69-Year-Old Breaks Her Own Unicycle World Record

Linda Jarrett just proved that some passions only get stronger with age, breaking her own world record as the oldest woman to ride a unicycle. At 69 years and 189 days old, she glided across the stage during a production of The Nutcracker in Lindsay, California, officially beating the record she set just two years earlier.

Jarrett's journey on one wheel started when she was 10 years old in Arlington Heights, Illinois. She received her first unicycle as a birthday gift and learned to ride with her sisters, falling in love with the challenge and joy of performing.

That first unicycle, a 24-inch Schwinn, still sits in her collection today. She rides it "all the time," proof that childhood gifts can spark lifelong passions.

By age 13, her dad upgraded her to a 6-foot tall unicycle, which she rode everywhere. The young performer turned heads in her neighborhood and discovered her calling in the circus arts.

Jarrett spent decades turning her hobby into a career. She performed with Florida State University's flying circus, worked as an acrobatics choreographer, and coached celebrities on the television show Circus for the Stars during a 10-year stint in Los Angeles.

In January 2023, she broke the world record for the first time at age 66. She unicycled across a stage in Tulare, California, with a young girl balanced on her shoulders, showing the strength and skill she'd built over 56 years of practice.

Two years later, she decided to push herself even further. Her December 2025 performance in The Nutcracker gave her the perfect stage to reclaim her own title and set a new benchmark for what's possible at any age.

Sunny's Take

"I LOVE performing," Jarrett told Guinness World Records. "I love to make people happy and make them smile, or even better, laugh!" Her secret isn't just physical skill but the pure joy she brings to every performance, inspiring audiences to believe that passion has no expiration date.

The grandmother continues performing in local theater productions, proving that retirement doesn't mean slowing down. She's living proof that the things we love as children can become the achievements we celebrate as grandparents, and that breaking your own records is the sweetest victory of all.