The late Jessi Combs has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s fastest woman, roughly 10 months after she was killed in a high-speed crash.
While driving the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger in August last year, Combs completed two high-speed runs on a dry lake bed in Oregon. During the first run she reached a top speed of 515.346 mph (829.368 km/h) while in the second run she hit 548.432 mph (882.615 km/h), making for a two-way average of 531.889 mph (855.992 km/h).
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This two-way average was submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records and has now been verified by Guinness at 522.783 mph (841.338 km/h). This beats the previous record held by Kitty O’Neil who set a 512.7 mph (825.11 km/h) average back in 1976.
During a special event held in Combs’ honor in September last year at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, her family said she had a dream of becoming the fastest woman on Earth. She has now achieved that dream.
Combs’ life was cut short during a subsequent run after setting her record-breaking two-way average. Upon investigating the crash, the Harney County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon concluded that one of the jet-powered car’s front wheels failed during the run, most likely after striking an object on the desert. The North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger was traveling at approximately 550 mph (885 km/h) at the time. Combs died of blunt force trauma.
