97-Year-Old British Grandmother Breaks Her Own World Record as Oldest Female Wing Walker a Year After Her Stroke
Age is no barrier for 97-year-old Betty Bromage, a British woman who has shattered her own Guinness World Record as the world's oldest female wing walker a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact that she achieved it less than a year after suffering a stroke.
The Record-Breaking Flight
Bromage, a former nurse who lives in Cheltenham, completed the wing walk on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at RFC Rendcomb Airfield in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, and aged 97 years and 127 days. Strapped to the top of a biplane as it climbed into the skies over the English countryside, she broke the Guinness World Record she had first set in 2022, at age 93. It was her sixth wing walk, a series of daredevil challenges she has taken on roughly once a year since she was 87.
Bromage suffered a stroke in August 2025 that still affects her speech. She was cared for at Cheltenham General Hospital, and this year's wing walk was undertaken specifically to raise money for the hospital's stroke unit, giving back to the medical staff who guided her recovery. Imogen Sims of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity thanked Bromage for her fundraising efforts, saying the money raised would help the hospital purchase equipment and support patients and staff.
"I'd Just Get Bored of Life Otherwise"
Bromage has been candid about what drives her to keep taking on physical challenges most people half her age would balk at. "I'd just get bored of life otherwise. I can't drive, I can't see very well and I get a bit frustrated. So, I want to do the things I can do," she told the BBC. Her outlook traces back to her decades working as a nurse, where she said she was struck by a message posted on a hospital wall reminding staff and patients alike that they have only one chance in life.
Wing walking is not Bromage's only brush with adrenaline. In previous years she has abseiled 170 feet down Cheltenham's Eagle Tower, reached speeds of 100 miles per hour on the world's fastest and Europe's longest zip line in North Wales, and taken a parachute jump all in aid of local charities. Her self-described motto is "wear out, don't rust out."
Bromage has said she is not finished yet, and has hinted she will need to come up with something special to mark her 100th birthday.
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References
UPI https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2026/08/05/Guinness-World-Records-oldest-wing-walker-female/1651785946981/
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