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• August Sports Blog August Sports Blog

  • From: gwr_mike
  • Description:

    Some say life slows down in the dog days of summer and the lazy days of August sure fit the bill. But records never rest, and while many of us were trying our best to stay in the shade or enjoy something on ice near the pool, plenty of people were still testing their limits this month. Let’s take a look at August in sports records!

    Return to the pitch
    
    It always feels like top-level football never stops in a World Cup year, but the month-or-so lull between Spain’s celebration in South Africa and the commencement of top-flight campaigns across Europe sure left a void in the footballing world.

    But now everywhere from Serie A to the Portuguese Liga has kicked off its 2010/11 campaigns and already record-breaking achievements are pouring in. This has been specifically evident in the Premier League, and not just from the players on the pitch.

    Already a new record has been broken for the “youngest Premier League referee.” Best of luck to Michael Oliver (UK, pictured), who at 25 years and 182 days old made his debut in Birmingham’s 2-1 victory over Blackburn on 21 August. As you can tell by this article, it appears we may not have heard the last of Oliver.

    Also of note in England, Chelsea have contributed a torrid start to the season with a 14-0 goals advantage on three wins in three matches. The Blues have now scored 32 unanswered goals dating back to last season, a Premier League record.

    Goodbye baseball

    In the U.S., baseball continues its regular season and Alex Rodriguez (USA, right) added a historic touch to August. The New York Yankees third baseman became the youngest player to hit 600 home runs when he knocked a two-run blast against the Toronto Blue Jays on 4 August. “A-Rod” went yard at the age of 35 years, 8 days, besting Babe Ruth’s previous mark by 1 year, 188 days.

    Speaking of home runs, Jim Thome (USA) joined an exclusive list in hitting his 12th career walk-off home run on 17 August. He joined Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Frank Robinson and Babe Ruth for the career lead in the category. For those unfamiliar, a walk-off home run is one which immediately ends the game in favour of the team at bat, allowing them to "walk off" the field winners.

    Basketball in the summer?

    The answer is yes, as the FIBA World Championships press on in Turkey. Check back after the tournament ends next month to see if any noteworthy records were set or broken. In the meantime, congratulations to Tina Thompson (USA) of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks for becoming the all-time leading scorer in the American women’s basketball league. She has amassed 6,413 points in her 14-year career, 150 points clear of second-place’s Lisa Leslie.

    What you did this month

    As always, the professionals weren’t the only ones getting in on the action this month. Here’s a sampling of what you all accomplished in August:

    Fastest time to 100 Eskimo rolls by hand in a canoe - female: Helen Barnes (UK, pictured) completed 100 eskimo rolls in 3 min 46.097 sec at the David Lloyd Club in Nottingham, UK on 24 June 2010.

    Longest marathon playing indoor football (soccer): The longest marathon playing indoor football (soccer) is 30 hr 10 min by members of Healthy Hearts Alberta (Canada) at the Leduc Recreation Centre in Leduc, Alberta, Canada, from 20-21 May 2010. 

    Most basketball free throws in 10 minutes; Most basketball free throws in 30 seconds: The most basketball free throws made in 10 minutes is 366 by Bob J. Fisher (USA) at Vermillion High School in Vermillion, Kansas, USA, on 5 June 2010. The same day, Fisher set the 30-second record with 33 free throws.

    Largest game of basketball knockout: The largest game of basketball knockout consisted of 146 players at Pine Creek High School (USA) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, on 13 May 2010.

    Sadly, summer is slowly winding down, but enjoy a great kick-off to the fall and we'll see you come October!

    Posted by Mike Janela
    1 September 2010 

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• July Sports Blog July Sports Blog

  • From: gwr_mike
  • Description:

    When the summer months heat up, so do the sports records.
    
    No month yet this year could compare to the number of records broken – both by professional athletes and everyday warriors – in July, so let’s not waste any time getting to the goods.
    
    WRAPPING UP THE WORLD CUP
    We entered July on the highs of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which culminated on the 11th with Spain winning its first ever world title. A pair of records were set in the historic 1-0 victory over the Netherlands: the match saw the most cautions issued in a FIFA World Cup final, as 14 yellow cards were handed out (nine to Dutch players, five to Spaniards when the previous record for such a match was six). And when Andres Iniesta sent fans like the ones pictured below into a euphoric frenzy, he had done so with the latest game-winning goal in cup history, netting in the 116th minute.

    LOW SCORES ON TWO CONTINENTS
    While the eyes of the world were on La Furia Roja, golf secretly had a fantastic record-breaking month.

    Let’s start with Paul Goydos. The American shot a 59 at the John Deere Classic on the TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, USA on 8 July 2010 to equal the lowest-ever score in a PGA Tournament single round. He became the fourth player to ever do it and the first since 1999. What a surprise then, when the mark was equalled less than a month later (albeit in August): Stuart Appleby (Australia) nailed a 59 on 1 August to win the Greenbrier Classic on the Old White course in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

    Not to be outdone across the pond, Irish phenom Rory McIlroy stroked a blistering 63 in the opening round of the Open Championships on 15 July. That tied the record for lowest score in a single round at any golf major championships. The magic number of 63 has now been achieved by 22 golfers a total of 24 times at a major.

    CAN ANYBODY SPARE A SEAT?
    The tennis world had a big June, what with all the mania over “Isner-Mahut,” but it served up a solid record in July as well. Serena Williams (USA)and Kim Clijsters (Belgium) broke the record for the highest attendance at a tennis match, when they played in front of 35,681 at King Baudoiun Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, on 8 July. This topped the previous record of 30,472 who saw Billie Jean King defeat Bobby Riggs in 1973's famous "Battle of the Sexes" in Houston, Texas, USA.

    MURALITHARAN THE MAGNIFIENT
    A true legend reached a legendary milestone this month in the cricket world. Muttiah Muralitharan – the Sri Lankan bowler who made his first test appearance in 1992 – reached 800 wickets in his final-ever test, doing so against India on 20 July. Not only is his 800 the most wickets ever taken in a test career, he is also the only bowler to ever reach the mark, with the nearest competitor at 708.

    WHAT YOU DID THIS MONTH
    Not to be outdone by the pros, you achieved a slew of approved records this month. Here’s a selection:
    
    -The most consecutive football rolls across the forehead is 581 by Victor Rubilar (Argentina, pictured) at Cicerellos Fish 'n' Chips in Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia, on 1 April 2010.

    -The longest marathon playing kickball is 50 hr 00 min by the Mercy Project (USA) at Community Park in Rowlett, Texas, USA, from 9-11 April 2010.
    
    -The most basketball half-court shots made in one minute is 7 by Charlie Vernon (USA, pictured) in Pullman, Washington, USA, on 15 April 2010.
    
    -The greatest weight deadlifted in one hour is 40,850 kg (90,058 lb) by Stuart Barr (UK) in Solihull, West Midlands, UK, on 19 April 2010.
    
    -The most marathons run on consecutive days by a female is 11 by Kalyn Jolivette (USA) in Pickerington, Ohio, USA, from 9 to 19 June 2010.
    
    -The most consecutive volleyball passes is 110 in an event hosted by the Triangle Volleyball Club at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, on 5 February 2010.
    
    No doubt another great month in the books. See everyone at the end of August!

    By Mike Janela
    2 August 2010
    
    

     

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• June Sports Blog June Sports Blog

  • From: gwr_mike
  • Description:

    Wow! That’s all I can say about June, which gave us so many sports records, I don’t know where to start.
    
    World Cup? Wimbledon? NBA? All the records you broke?
    
    To be honest, we can begin anywhere and not go wrong, but let’s kick off with the dominant story around the globe this month: FIFA’s World Cup in South Africa.
    
    Fabulous Football
    First, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point you in the direction of our very own World Cup minisite, available by clicking here. There’s plenty to see, as you can follow Thulani Ngcobo’s attempt at attending the most World Cup matches in a single competition, GWR’s own Jason Curran as his adjudicator, catch up on our blog series and vote in the Guinness World Records Cup – currently in the knockout stages.
    
    Now, as for some actual records broken at the 2010 World Cup, here’s a sampling:
    
    First brothers to play against each other in a FIFA World Cup: When Germany and Ghana clashed in their group play finale, Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana) and Jerome Boateng (Germany, right) put family bonds aside for country. Click here for a more in-depth look.
    
    Oldest player to make his FIFA World Cup debut: David James (UK) earned this distinction at the starting keeper for England in its second match of the tournament, a clean sheet draw against Algeria.
    
    Most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal: Switzerland saw its record of flawless World Cup defense dating back to 1994 end at 559 minutes when it conceded a 75th-minute score to Chile in a 1-0 loss on 21 June.

    Terrific Tennis
    The only story that seemed to take any thunder away from the World Cup at all this month was tennis. In particular, the Longest professional tennis match ever played. John Isner (USA) and Nicolas Mahut (France) lit the sporting world on fire with their first-round epic at Wimbledon toward the end of the month. We had it all covered, so check it out here.
    
    Also in tennis this month, we saw Roger Federer’s record for Most consecutive Men’s Grand Slam semifinals end when he bowed out before the final four at the French Open. At that same tournament, Rafael Nadal inched ever closer to the Most French Open singles titles by a man, as his five now have him just one away from Bjorn Borg’s six. Maybe next June we’ll have to co-crown the Spanish prince of clay as a king.

    Brilliant Basketball
    June also saw the National Basketball Association award its world title, as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics (both USA) for their 16th NBA title, one behind the Celtics’ record of 17.
    
    In that series we saw two Guinness World Records broken. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson (USA, left) extended his own record for Most NBA championship titles won by a head coach, now at 11, and Celtics sharpshooter Ray Allen (USA) broke the record for Most three-point field goals in an NBA finals game with eight in Game 2 of the series.

    What you did this month
    As always, the professionals weren’t the only ones breaking records in June. Here’s a portion of what you had certified as Guinness World Records this month:
    
    Fastest half marathon with 40 lb pack: The fastest half marathon whilst wearing a 40 lb pack is 1 hr 44 min 53 sec by Barry Stoddart (UK, below) at the Fleet Half Marathon in Fleet, Hampshire, UK, on 21 March 2010. 
    
    Highest inline skate drop into a halfpipe: The record for the highest inline skate drop into a halfpipe was 12 m 50 cm achieved by Taïg Khris during the M6 Mobile Mega Jump event in Paris (France), on 29 May 2010. 
    
    Greatest weight deadlifted in one hour: The greatest weight deadlifted in one hour is 40,800 kg (89,948 lb) by Nick Molloy (UK) at Esporta Health Club in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK on 22 March 2010.
    
    Most chin ups in one hour: The most chin ups in one hour is 960 by Stephen Hyland (UK) in Stoneleigh, Surrey, UK, on 2 April 2010.
    
    Youngest person to complete a marathon on all seven continents (female): The youngest woman to have completed a marathon on all seven continents is Stefanie Pettersson (Sweden/ Brazil, b. 23 March 1993) who was 17 years and 2 months, when she completed the final Kigali Marathon, Rwanda, Africa, on 23 May 2010.
    
    So there you have it. See you in July!

    By Mike Janela
    30 June 2009

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• Longest professional tennis ma Longest professional tennis match

  • From: gwr_mike
  • Description:

    Nobody said making Guinness World Records history was easy.
    
    The 2010 Wimbledon Championships has seen John Isner (USA, below left) and Nicolas Mahut (France) labour across three gruelling days of tennis to smash a number of new Guinness World Records achievements en route to Isner’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68 victory.
    
    Never in the history of professional tennis have so many records been broken so epically.
    
    It begins with the match itself, easily the Longest professional tennis match, at a time of 11 hours and 5 min. The previous record stood at 6 hours, 33 minutes in a 2004 French Open encounter between Arnaud Clement (France) and Fabrice Santoro (France). To put this in perspective, the 8-hour, 11-minute fifth set alone between Isner (victorious, below) and Mahut lasted longer in time than any other professional tennis match in history.
    
    The men played for so long that it appeared they were on track for the Longest tennis marathon, set at 36 hours, 36 minutes, and 36 seconds and achieved by Jeroen Wagenaar (Netherlands) and Serge Fernando (Netherlands) at the Tennis Society 'T.C. de Kooistee' in Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands, on 12 September 2009.
    
    In terms of professional tennis, though, nobody had ever seen a match like this and most likely never will again.
    By default, the match also owns the record for Longest Grand Slam tennis match and of course Longest Wimbledon tennis match. All of the records set by the duo in their meeting have the distinction of holding records at the three different levels.
    
    Naturally within such a match, other records will also tumble. Among these was the Most games played in a professional tennis match. The historic five-set duel saw 183 games played before Isner emerged with the win. This topped the previous record of 122 games in a 1973 Davis Cup doubles match.
    
    En route to his triumph, Isner broke the record for Most aces served in a professional tennis match with 113. Incredibly, Mahut finished with 103 aces of his own, destroying the previous mark of 78 set by Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) in 2009, but still bested by Isner.
    
    The magnificent match most obviously wouldn’t have reached its historic heights without the monster fifth set. It holds a record of its very own, as the Most games played in a professional tennis set with 138, as Isner emerged with the 70-68 result.
    
    Truly a magnificent three days for fans of tennis, sport in general and world records.
    
    After the match, Wimbledon officials justifiably honored both Isner and Mahut for their Herculean efforts in a match the likes we may never see again.
    
    Surely no matter how the rest of the Wimbledon Championships unfold, the 2010 tournament will be remembered for the heroic world-record breaking display between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, forever entwined.

    Mike Janela
    24 June 2010

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• The 2010 NBA Finals are here!! The 2010 NBA Finals are here!!

  • From: gwr_carlos
  • Description:

    And oh boy how they come! The series to determine which is the best basketball team in the planet bring always a lot of excitement, but when the two most legendary franchises in the history of the sport, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, face each other in the finals, there is always something extra added to them.

    

    

     

     

     

     

     

    These two teams will face each other in a best of 7 games format and one more episode of the most intense rivalry in basketball will start tonight!

    There are a lot of ways to approach this series: from the old memories of Bill Russell vs. Jerry West and Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson, to the recent 2008 NBA Finals; or we could talk about how some players will have to find their defining moment in these series; or how these 2 teams have faced each other 11 times in the finals with the Celtics winning 9 of them. But from Guinness World Records, what else than doing it from our unique records perspective!

    First of all, the obvious: These 2 franchises are the ones with most wins in the history of the league. The Boston Celtics hold the record for the Most NBA Championship titles with 17, but they are closely followed by the current champions, the Los Angeles Lakers with 15.

    To put this in perspective, if we add the number of titles of both teams, they have won the NBA Championship more times than the rest of the teams of the league together. And the Lakers in this case will have not only the challenge of retaining the title, but also to get closer to their long time rivals.

    We’ve seen the history, let’s see the present:

    The coaches.

    Phil Jackson is the L.A. Lakers coach and a multiple record breaker at the same time. He is the most successful coach in the history of the NBA with 10 NBA titles, and the coach with most wins in the NBA playoffs with 221.

    

    Glenn “Doc” Rivers is the Boston Celtics coach, and he does not hold any world record. Maybe because he is one of the youngest NBA coaches out there, but he was named coach of the year in 2000.

    

    The players.

    The LA Lakers is probably more single star driven than the Celtics, but how could they not be when they have the arguably best basketball player in the world, Kobe Bryant. Kobe is the youngest basketball player to ever score 25,000 points in a NBA career and he is also the best paid basketball player nowadays. He is the youngest player to appear in 1,000 games and he is able to lead his team in the most decisive moments. Fans are always waiting for the winning shot and the expression “I only believe in Kobe Bryant” is becoming more and more popular in basketball fans all over the world.

    

    With him, the best Spanish player in the history of basketball, Pau Gasol. 2 times (and current) European Basketball player of the year (only player winning this title more than once) and current MVP of the Eurobasket, where he led the Spain national team to the gold medal.

    

    In the Boston Celtics though, the star is… the team! From the Boston Big Three (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen) to the Fantastic Four (just add Rajon Rondo to the previous group) each game, series, time of the season, marks the leadership of a different player. But are they record holders?

    

    Ray Allen is an expert in the long range shooting: He is the active player with most 3 pointers made. He also holds the record for most three-point field goals made in an NBA Finals series with 22, and also the record for the most three-pointers made in a regular season with 269.

    

    Kevin Garnett is an all around player: He is the only player in NBA history to reach at least 20,000 points, 11,000 rebounds, 4,000 assists, 1,200 steals, and 1,500 blocks in his playing career.

    

    And Paul Pierce. The current 3 points contest champion in the NBA All Star is also a Free Throws expert: The record holder for the most consecutive free throws made in the playoffs, with 21, and the most free throws made in one quarter, in any NBA Finals game with 10.

    Guinness World Records will be following the finals to see in any records are broken and to enjoy the show in the meantime!

    3 June 2010

     

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• The Champions League Final The Champions League Final

  • From: GWR_Ralph
  • Description:

    Welcome to the Champions League Final blog where we will be talking record-breaking stadiums, teams, managers, players and will also compare this season’s stats with the all-time Champions League Guinness World Records to see how they match up.

    On Saturday 22nd May at the Santiago Bernabeu home of Real Madrid in Spain the 18th Champions League Final (55th European Cup Final) is taking place. This is the fourth final at the Bernabeu just one short of the record held by Wembley Stadium, London and Heysel Stadium, Brussels for the most times to host the European Cup/Champions League Final. In this season’s match up Bayern Munich take on Inter Milan with both clubs chasing an unprecedented treble (they have already won their respective domestic league and cup).

    

    Bayern Munich have the edge over Inter historically, they have won the trophy 4 times including three consecutive victories in the 1970s compared to Inter’s 2 triumphs (back-to-back in the 1960s). It is their hosts Real Madrid though who put them in the shade with the most European Cup victories a whopping 9, they had won the first five tournaments from 1956 to 1960 to record the most consecutive wins of the European Cup. It is no surprise then that Spanish clubs have recorded 12 European Cup/Champions League victories. Italian clubs however have won 11 so an Inter victory would equal the record for the most European Cup/Champions League titles won by a country.

    

    

    The teams themselves also hold records in Europe. Last season Bayern Munich trounced Sporting Lisbon 12-1 on aggregate in the second phase. The 11-goal margin is the highest margin of victory in a Champions League knockout tie. The second leg victory (which Bayern are celebrating below) was 7-1 which equalled the record for highest margin of victory in a single knockout match, first set by Manchester United vs. Roma in the 2007/08 season.

    

    Inter Milan share the record for the most wins of the UEFA Cup, they won it three times in the 1990s under three different managers to equal the record first set by Juventus in 1993. In 2001 they were joined by Premier League club Liverpool.

    

    Both managers have won the tournament previously, Louis van Gaal won it with Ajax in 1995 while Jose Mourinho won it at Porto in 2004. That means the winner will equal the record for the manager with the most Champions League victories with different clubs. Ottmar Hitzfeld (Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich) and Ernst Happel (Feyenoord and Hamburg) currently share this record. The record for the most European Cups/Champions Leagues won by a manager is three, Bob Paisley completed his personal treble with Liverpool in 1977, 1978 and 1981.

    

    Finally let’s see how this year’s cream of European football compare historically as we match up this season’s heroes with some of the all-time Guinness World Records in the Champions League.

    Most goals in a Champions League season (individual)
    2002/03: 12 goals - Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Netherlands)
    2009/10: 8 goals - Lionel Messi (Argentina)

    Most goals scored in a Champions League season (team)
    2000: 45 goals -  Barcelona
    2009/10: 21 goals – Arsenal, Manchester United, Bayern Munich
     
    Highest aggregate score in a Champions League match
    2003/04: 11 goals -  Monaco vs Deportivo La Coruña 8-3
    2009/10: 7 goals – Four different games in the group stages

    Highest margin of victory in a Champions Leage match
    2007/08: 8 goals – Liverpool vs Besiktas 8-0
    2009/10: 5 goals – Marseille vs FC Zurich 6-1 and Arsenal vs Porto 5-0 

    

    Most consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League
    2005/06: 10 matches – Arsenal
    2009/10: 4 matches - Bordeaux

    Fastest Champions League goal
    2006/07: 10 seconds - Roy Makaay
    2009/10:  2 minutes – five players

    Longest unbeaten run in the Champions League
    2007-2009: 25 games - Manchester United
    2009/10: 8 games – Bordeaux

     

     

    By Ralph Hannah

    21 May 2010

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• April Sports Blog April Sports Blog

  • From: gwr_mike
  • Description:

    As the springtime weather heats up at the Guinness World Records offices, so have the claims for new sports feats and achievements. With key American professional leagues entering their postseasons, football leagues across Europe drawing current campaigns to a close, and you individual record-breakers continuing to impress and amaze, April has given us plenty to talk about.

    Let's take a look around the world of sport and then celebrate what you all accomplished this month.

    MARATHON MADNESS

    One of the great days of any year in the land of Guinness World Records is the running of the London Marathon, which saw 18 records -- in itself a new high achievement -- certified this year. For a complete recap and some cool photos, be sure to take a look at my colleague Ralph Hannah's blog on this year's marathon if you haven't already.  It's kind of weird seeing Fred Flinstone wearing sneakers after all those years of bare feet.

    Also occurring in April: the Boston Marathon, which saw its course record for men fall this year. Congratulations to Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot (Kenya), who ran the marathon in 2 hr, 5 min, 52 sec to break the previous mark held by...Robert Cheruiyot!  Crazy as it sounds, the previous record of 2 hr, 7 min, 14 sec was set by Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot in 2006 and even crazier: the two aren't related. Oddly, this has happened before in Boston, as John A. Kelley won the marathon in 1935 and '45 before the unrelated John J. Kelley ran away with the 1957 crown.

    NBA PLAYOFFS

    The National Basketball Association (USA) playoffs are in full swing as the Los Angeles Lakers look to defend their championship. We'll take a deeper look at NBA records in a special blog for the NBA Finals later this spring, but first a few records of note set in the now-complete 2009-10 regular season:

    Youngest person to win an NBA scoring title: At a precocious 21 years, 197 days old, Kevin Durant (right) of the Oklahoma City Thunder (USA) averaged 30.1 points per game for the season, making him the youngest scoring champ in league history. He outdid Max Zaslofsky (USA), who at 22 years, 105 days led the league with 21 ppg playing for the Chicago Staggs in 1947-48. We'd be smiling if we could play as well as Kevin, too.

    Most NBA games won by a coach: On 7 April the Golden State Warriors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves to give head coach Don Nelson (USA) his record-breaking 1,333rd win as an NBA head coach. Nelson currently owns a career record of 1,335-1,063.

    Most 3-point field goals in an NBA season: Holding the 3-point record for most made in one game (23) wasn't enough. The Orlando Magic (USA) drained 841 trifectas this season to break the 2006 Phoenix Suns' record of 837 for most treys hit in an entire year.

    PASSING OF A LEGEND

    Before we get to what you achieved this month and a look ahead to May, I would be remiss if I didn't recognize the death of Juan Antonio Samaranch (Spain) this month. Samaranch served as president of the International Olympic Committee from 1980-2001, a term second only to modern founder Pierre de Coubertin's 29 years. The number of participating countries in the IOC increased at every Olympics under Samaranch and he helped catapult one of the world's greatest sporting and record-breaking events into what it is today.

    WHAT YOU DID THIS MONTH!

    Plenty of great records to choose from this month as the Guinness World Records family officially welcomed a slew of new members, including:

    Fastest half marathon running backwards: The fastest half marathon run backwards is 1 hr 40 min 29 sec by Achim Aretz (Germany, left) at the 19th TUSEM August Blumensaat in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on 28 November 2009.

    Heaviest vehicle pulled over 100m by a team: The heaviest vehicle pulled over 100 m (328 ft) by a team was a train weighing 646,350 kg (1,424,958 lbs) by a team organised by Michael Bühler (Switzerland) on 24 October 2009 in Widnau, St. Gallen, Switzerland.

    Most consecutive headstand pushups on one arm: The most consecutive headstand push ups on one arm are 7 and were achieved by Yury Tikhonovich (Russia) on the set of Lo Show dei Record in Rome Italy, on 1 April 2010.

    Longest marathon playing volleyball indoors: The longest marathon playing volleyball (indoors) was 76 hr 30 min by students of the Zespól Szkól Ekonomicznych (Poland) in Sosnowiec, Poland, from 4 to 7 December 2009.

    Most golf balls held in one hand: The most golf balls held in one hand for 10 seconds is 24 by Guillaume Doyon (Canada) at Collège Saint-Alexandre in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, on 30 November 2009. Look at that grip!

    WHAT'S ON TAP FOR MAY

    The 2010 ICC World Twenty20 begins 30 April and runs until the final on 16 May in the West Indies. We'll have a full recap of any records broken in the May Sports Blog, but here are a couple World Twenty20 records to whet your appetite: India and Pakistan share the record for most wins of the tournament with one each. The highest indidivual score belongs to Chris Gayle (Jamaica) with 117 for the West Indies against South Africa on 11 September 2007. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) has the most runs in a World Cup career with 382, while Umar Gul (Pakistan) has the most career wickets in a Twenty20 World Cup career with 26 in 14 matches.

    Also due up in May will be a lot of football talk.  Not only will a number of Europe's best leagues finish their seasons, but also keep an eye out for a special blog on the Champions League final, set for 22 May in Madrid between Inter Milan (Italy) and Bayern Munich (Germany). And don't forget about the chase for one of the world's most iconic trophies: the Stanley Cup. The National Hockey League playoffs are at full throttle and we'll take a look at that in the coming weeks as well.

    See you next time!

    Mike Janela

    30 April 2010

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• London Marathon - results London Marathon - results

  • From: GWR_Ralph
  • Description:

    The 2010 Virgin London Marathon is over and it was a busy day for myself and the rest of the Guinness World Records adjudication team as 18 records were certificated on the day! This outstrips the 12 broken last year so it truly was a record-breaking day! Below is a full list of the results of ALL our Guinness World Records attempters whether they managed a record or not. But first here are the highlights of the day.

    

    Perfect conditions greeted the runners at the start, it was grey and overcast and the mood was confident. The Guinness World Records stand was certainly attracting strange looks from the gathering crowds. Jean Paul de Lacy’s 23 ft giraffe costume was unmissable, he was going for tallest costume. Fastest mascot attempter and Millwall FC mascot Paul Wycherley was surrounded by kids asking if he was really a lion!

    

    As the race set off our adjudication team moved to the finish line where we tracked all the runners via their chip times. Although Andrew White set off at a blistering pace in his attempt to become the fastest nurse the first runner past the line was Martin Indge a.k.a Batman. A time of 3 hr 01 min 39 sec wasn’t quite enough to grab the record for the fastest superhero. However the disappointment didn’t last long because 10 minutes later we had had three Guinness World Records in under 3 minutes. David Ross steamed through in 3 hr 07 min 34 seconds dressed as Fred Flinstone to become the fastest cartoon character. YABBA DABBA DO!

    

    Last year Super Girl Jill Christie picked up and injury and missed out on becoming the fastest superhero. Despite that setback she was determined to come back, and come back she did with a new world record time of 3 hr 08 min 55 sec.

    Less than a minute later the hotly contested Leprechaun race had been resolved. Five runners had donned the green and it was Ben Afforselles who came out on top, smashing the previous record of 4 hr 22 min 08 sec with his run of 3 hr 09 min 40 sec.

     Another hot competition was in the television character category. Our Tellytubby Jonathan Zeffert arrived in a highly respectable 4 hr 05 min 03 sec only to look over my shoulder and see his hopes exterminated by Paul Franks, the Dalek holding a Guinness World Records certificate for crossing the line in 4 hr 01 min 46 seconds.

    Just one second slower was Ian Young who became the fastest book character in his Sherlock Holmes outfit. He may have beaten Richard Pitt (Zorro) and Dave Kidd (Wally) but they latter certainly wasn’t disheartened. “Sherlock did such a cracking time” he conceded before hopefully adding “I may have broken the record for most people hit with a walking stick during a marathon, sure I got at least 238!”.

    

    This was the first marathon sponsored by Virgin and so it was no surprise to hear that Richard Branson was running, but what about his kids? Richard may have finished faster but Holly and Sam Branson finished with more people including Princess Beatrice. The “Team Caterpillar” totalled 34 runners and was the most runners linked to complete a marathon.

    

    Richard did manage to get his hands on a certificate but it wasn’t his, it was Tom Solomon the Running Mad Professor who finished in 4 hr 21 min 09 sec, the fastest doctor!

    

     

    As the day drew to a close there was still one more rollercoaster ride for my emotions as I watched our runners come home. Nigel Addison-Evans was thwarted by unseasonal hot weather last year as he tried to become the fastest fireman. This year he did manage to get himself into the record books though by a whisker. A time of 5 hrs 32 min 55 sec meant he got the record by just 15 seconds! Susie Hewer managed to crochet a mind boggling 77.4 metre long scarf (that’s 2.9 metres a mile) the longest crochet chain while running a marathon. And it seemed the day was destined to finish on a high…a real high…when Jean Paul De Lacy came through in his giraffe costume, the tallest costume worn to complete a marathon.

    Our last runner to arrive was John Sandford Hart in 6 hr 49 min 20 sec, falling seven minutes short of the record for the fastest time on crutches. He was visibly disappointed at not getting his 3rd Guinness World Record but it didn’t take away from what had been a fabulous day for him and everybody with over half a million pounds raised by our runners alone! Congratulations to all our runners, all the other runners, and all the staff  and volunteers at Virgin London Marathon who made it another day to remember!

     

    Full results
    (All times are hours, minutes, seconds)

    1. Fastest marathon in book character costume (male)

    Ian Young – Sherlock Holmes – 4:01:47 (NEW GWR)
    Dave Kidd – Wally  – 4:30:03
    Richard Pitt – Zorro – 4:39:21

    2. Fastest marathon in superhero costume (female)

    Jill Christie - Super Girl – 3:08:55 (NEW GWR)

    3. Fastest marathon in superhero costume (male)

    Martin Indge – Batman – 3:01:39 

    4. Fastest marathon as a cartoon character (male)

    David Ross – Fred Flinstone – 3:07:34 (NEW GWR)
    Steve Paterson – Buzz Lightyear – 3:11:10
    Jeremy Mirams – Woody (Toy Story) – 3:47:27
    Stephen Howe – Spongebob Squarepants – 4:20:28

    5. Fastest marathon dressed as a bottle (female)

    Gill Begnor – Bottle of Beer – 4:54:36 (NEW GWR)

    6. Fastest marathon as an alien (male)

    Kevin Gooding – Green alien with spaceship – 5:49:16

    7. Fastest marathon in an animal costume (male)

    Kevin Robins  – Tiger – 3:30:01 (NEW GWR)
    Timothy Edwards – Lobster – 5:17:35

    8. Fastest marathon in television character costume (male)

    Paul Franks – Dalek – 4:01:46 (NEW GWR)
    Jonathan Zefferet – Tellytubby – 4:05:03

    
    9. Tallest costume worn running in a marathon

    Jean Paul De Lacy – Giraffe - 5:55:11 – 7.04 m (23 ft 1 in) (NEW GWR)
    Bernie Hollywood – Payment terminal - 5:28:58 - 4.82 m (15ft 10 in)
    George Bingham – Angel of the North - 07:36:57 - 4.50 m (14 ft 9 in)

    10. Fastest marathon in mascot costume (male)

    Paul Wycherley – Zampa the Lion (Millwall FC) – 5:17:21

    11. Fastest marathon in a fireman's uniform (male)

    Nigel Addison-Evans – 5:32:55 (NEW GWR)
    Michael Szymanski – 6:30:53

    
    12. Fastest marathon dressed as a golfer (male)

    Bertrand Bodson – 3:43:20 (NEW GWR)

    13. Fastest marathon dressed as a baby (male)

    Tony Audenshaw – 3:13:30 (NEW GWR)

    14. Fastest marathon in School Uniform (female)

    Louise Winstanley – 4:14:46 (NEW GWR)

    15. Fastest marathon dressed as a jester (male)

    David Smith – 3:33:55 (NEW GWR)

    16. Fastest marathon dressed as a leprechaun (male)

    Ben Afforselles – 3:09:40 (NEW GWR)
    Alan Williams – 3:22:29
    James Pottinger – 3:41:24
    Damien O’Looney – 3:49:32
    Mike MacDonald – 4:23:29

    
    17. Fastest marathon in an ice hockey kit (male)

    Timothy Reynolds – DNF

    18. Fastest marathon in a martial arts suit (male)

    Peter Kelly – 3:39:20 (NEW GWR)

    19. Fastest marathon in a nurse’s uniform (male)

    Andrew White – 3:46:27 (NEW GWR)

    20. Fastest marathon in a doctor’s uniform (male)
     
    Tom Solomon – 4:21:09 (NEW GWR)

    21. Fastest marathon carrying a 40 lb pack

    Gary “Gaz” Homer – 4:54:11

    22. Fastest marathon carrying a 60 lb pack
     
    Benjamin Harrop – 5:28:53 (NEW GWR)

    23. Most runners linked to complete a marathon
          
    Team Caterpillar (34 people) including Princess Beatrice, Holly and Sam Branson and Phil Nevin (NEW GWR)

    24. Fastest marathon on crutches

    John Sandford Hart – 6:49:20

    25. Longest crochet chain while running a marathon

    Susie Hewer – 77.4 metres (NEW GWR)

    26. Fastest marathon wearing breathing apparatus

    John Cudmore – 4:54:59 (RECORD PENDING RATIFICATION)
    Ian Abercrombie – 4:54:59 (RECORD PENDING RATIFICATION)

    27. Fastest marathon dressed as a vegetable

    Michael Neville - Carrot - 3:09:21 (NEW GWR)

    By Ralph Hannah

    26 April 2010

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• London Marathon - preview London Marathon - preview

  • From: GWR_Ralph
  • Description:

    This Sunday is one of my favourite days of the year, it is the 2010 Virgin London Marathon! It is always a happy day with thousands of runners across the world coming together to raise money for charity and try and challenging themselves to complete the gruelling 26.2 mile course.

    

    At Guinness World Records we are accustomed to meeting people who want to push themselves to the limit, and the marathon is no exception. This year we have set a personal record having the most record attempters (75) and the largest number of different record categories (27). All of them are listed at the bottom.

    

    These range from the self-diagnosed 'The Running Mad Professor' a.k.a Tom Solomon who hopes to become the fastest doctor by clocking under 4 hours 30 minutes to Andrew White who is trying to break the same barrier and become the fastest nurse.

     

    Princess Beatrice is planning to be the first royal to run the London Marathon, which isn’t a record in itself but fear not she has signed up to Team Caterpillar with Sam and Holly Branson led by Phil Nevin. Add another 30 friends, tie them together and what do you have? The attempt for the most runners linked together to complete a marathon. The record to beat is 33. Emmerdale star Tony Audenshaw is aiming to be the fastest baby - he's hoping to get round in just 3 hr 10 min!

    Last year Super Girl a.k.a Jill Christie, a policewoman from Brentford got injured during the race and couldn’t beat the very competitive record for fastest superhero (female) – this year she is back and hoping to finish under 3 hr 13 min 33 sec to claim the record that eluded her last year!

    

    Susie Hewer already holds the record for the longest scarf knitted while running a marathon. How she managed 1.62 metres in under the GWR-imposed 6 hour time limit I’ll never know. Like Jill she returns this year but with a new record challenge perfectly suited to her talents. Watch out for Susie and her balls of wool as she attempts the longest scarf crocheted while running a marathon!

    

    You can check out some of our guys at the press conference on Friday. George Bingham is the Angel of the North, the 14 ft 4 in structure will be the tallest costume worn in a marathon.

     

    

     

    Finally here is a full list of all our runners on Sunday. Good luck to all of them (and everybody else taking part!). The photos are of David Ross (Fred Flinstone) running as the fastest cartoon character, Jonathan Zeffert (Tinky Winky) the fastest television character and Dave Kidd (Wally) the fastest book character.

    Alan Williams - Fastest marathon dressed as a leprechaun

    Andrew White -  Fastest marathon in a nurses uniform (male)

    Ben Afforselles - Fastest marathon dressed as a leprechaun

    Benjamin Harrop - Fastest marathon carrying a 60 lb pack

    Bernie Hollywood - Tallest costume worn running in a marathon

    Bertrand Bodson - Fastest marathon as a golfer (male)

    Damien O'Looney - Fastest marathon as a leprechaun

    Dave  Kidd - Fastest marathon as a book character

    David Ross - Fastest marathon as a cartoon character (male)

    David Smith - Fastest marathon dressed as a jester

    Gary Homer - Fastest marathon carrying 40 lb pack

    George Bingham - Tallest costume worn running in a marathon

    Gill Begnor - Fastest marathon as a bottle (female)

    Ian Abercrombie - Fastest marathon in breathing apparatus (male)

    Ian Young - Fastest marathon as a book character

    James Pottinger - Fastest marathon as a leprechaun

    Jean Paul De Lacy - Tallest costume worn running in a marathon

    Jeremy Mirams - Fastest marathon as a cartoon character (male)

    Jill Christie - Fastest marathon in superhero costume (female)

    John Cudmore-  Fastest marathon in breathing apparatus (male)

    John Sandford Hart - Fastest marathon on crutches

    Jonathan Zeffert - Fastest marathon as a television character

    Kevin Goodings - Fastest marathon dressed as an alien

    Kevin Robins - Fastest marathon in an animal costume (male)

    Louise Winstanley - Fastest marathon in school uniform (female)

    Martin Indge - Fastest marathon as a superhero (male)

    Michael Szymanski - Fastest marathon in a fireman's uniform

    Mike Buss - Fastest marathon carrying 100 lb pack

    Mike MacDonald - Fastest marathon dressed as a leprechaun

    Nigel Addison Evans - Fastest marathon in a fireman's uniform

    Paul Franks - Fastest marathon dressed as a television character (male)

    Paul Wycherley - Fastest marathon as a mascot

    Peter Kelly - Fastest marathon in a martial arts suit

    Phil Nevin and 33 others - Most runners linked to complete a marathon

    Richard Pitt - Fastest marathon as a book character

    Steve Paterson - Fastest marathon dressed as a cartoon character

    Steven Howe - Fastest marathon dressed as a cartoon character

    Susie Hewer - Longest crochet chain whilst running a marathon

    Tim Reynolds - Fastest marathon in an ice hockey kit

    Timothy Edwards - Fastest marathon in an animal costume (male)

    Tom Solomon - Fastest marathon dressed as a doctor (male)

    Tony Audenshaw - Fastest marathon dressed as a baby (male)

    By Ralph Hannah

    23 April 2010

     

    Follow @gwrnews on twitter for on the spot updates from Sunday's marathon

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• World Sports Stacking Champion World Sports Stacking Championships

  • From: GWR_Ralph
  • Description:

    Sport stacking first started in the late 1980s in Southern California at a boys and girls club where it was known as cup stacking. After receiving national exposure on The Tonight Show in 1990 its popularity rocketed. By 2001 the World Sport Stacking Association was born to regulate competition in the now global phenomenon.

    

    Over the weekend (April 10th and 11th) 800 stackers from 17 different countries will descend on Denver, Colorado for the pinnacle of competitive sport stacking; the 2010 WSSA World Sport Stacking Championships. With teams from as far afield as Argentina, Macau and Thailand we can certainly expect to see some records broken. In 2010 we have already seen two…

    

    
    In January multiple world record holder and star of the 2009 World Championships Steven Purugganan (above) saw his record for the 3-3-3 individual stack equalled. Lawrence Maceren managed 1.80 seconds, it was only the second equal record in sport stacking history – you can see the first here.

    At the Maryland State Championships in March 10-year-old Kennard Gardner didn’t equal Steven Purugganan’s  fastest sport stacking individual 3-6-3 stack record...he beat it by a whisker, 0.07 seconds to be precise. This was the first time ever that Purugganan has had an individual world record beaten - you can see how he did it below!

    Speed is of course the draw of sport stacking but you would be wrong to think all the WSSA records are timed. In fact the WSSA is a record holder in its own right, every year they host the WSSA Stack Up! in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most people sport stacking in multiple locations. Over the years this record, attempted as part of Guinness World Records Day, has grown and grown. In November 2006 there were 81,252, the next year it had almost doubled to 143,530 people and most recently they topped the quarter of a million mark. An unprecedented 276,053 stackers got involved!

    

    Here are a list of the other current WSSA records – all of which will be under threat this weekend!

    The fastest sport stacking 3-6-3 timed relay is 12.72 seconds and was achieved by Team USA (Joel Brown,Luke Myers, Steven Purugganan and Alex Schumann) (all USA) at the 2009 WSSA World Sport Stacking Championships Denver, Colorado, USA, on 19 April 2009.

    The fastest sport stacking doubles cycle stack is shared at 7.47 seconds and was first achieved by Tyler Cole (Canada) and Luke Myers (USA), at the WSSA Tri-State Sport Stacking Championships in Quincy, Illinois, USA, on 19 September 2009. It was equalled by Jonathan Kettler and Samuel Kettler (both Germany), at the WSSA Weidig Open Sport Stacking Championships in Butzbach, Hesse, Germany, on 14 November 2009.

    The fastest sport stacking individual cycle stack is 5.93 seconds and was achieved by Steven Purugganan (United States) at the WSSA Greater Cleveland Ohio Sport Stacking Championships Cleveland, Ohio, USA, on 3 January 2009.

    By Ralph Hannah

    09 April 2010

    For more information about the WSSA you can visit: http://worldsportstackingassociation.org/

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• The Grand National The Grand National

  • From: GuinnessWorldRecords
  • Description:

    We have nosebags of Grand National and racing records for you, starting with my granny who backed Red Rum on each of his Grand National victories. Well done granny!
    
    The first Grand National Steeple Chase may be regarded as the Grand Liverpool Steeple Chase of 26 Feb 1839 though the race was not given its present name until 1847. It became a handicap in 1843. Except for 1916-18 and 1941-5, the race has been run at Aintree, near Liverpool, over 30 fences.

    The only horse to win three times is Red Rum (foaled 1965) in 1973, 1974 and 1977, from five runs, giving Red Rum the most Grand National Wins. He came second in 1975 and 1976.

    
    
    
    Manifesto (foaled 1888) ran a record eight times (1895–1904). He won in 1897 and 1899, came third three times and fourth once.
    
    The leading jockey with 5 wins is George Stevens with Freetrader (1856), Emblem (1863), Emblematic (1864), and The Colonel (1869, 1870).

    

    Of course no horse race would the same without a bit of a flutter but it’s a bit of a tie for longest odds winner – Tipperary Tim (1928), Gregalach (1929), Caughoo (1947), Foinavon (1967), Mon Mome (2009), all 100/1. The longest winning odds recorded in British horse racing are 250-1 when Equinoctial won at Kelso on 21 Nov 1990. Owner-trainer Norman Miller was not surprised by his horse's success despite being beaten in his previous race by 62 lengths.
    
    The Grand National boasts £900’000 purse but the greatest prize money for horse racing is for the Breeders' Cup Championship Day series staged annually in the USA since 1984. In 1999 the eight Breeders' Cup races and two additional stakes races (held at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale, Florida on 6 November) had a total of $13.2 million (£9.1 million) in prize money.

    By Danny Sharkey
    08 April 2010

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• March Sports Blog March Sports Blog

  • From: GWR_Ralph
  • Description:

    The Guinness World Records offices were inundated with new sports claims this month – check below for our pick of them. March also saw the climax of the Six Nations, the start of Formula One and records in ice hockey and cycling. Also we preview what is happening in April from the start of the baseball season to the snooker World Championships. It is all in this month’s action-packed sports blog!

     

    What you did this month!!

     

    Ever tried a muscle up? Me neither. It sounds hard, in fact it is hard! Just watch Jarryd Rubinstein doing 25, the most consecutive muscle ups, on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

     

    In the previous blog I showed you the first ever tie in Sport Stacking…well here is the second, this time in the 3-3-3 individual stack, congratulations to Lawrence Maceren who equalled Steve Purugganan (pictured below) with a time of 1.80 seconds. 

    
    

     

    My colleague Jack Brockbank is more accustomed to adjudicating beauty queens than strongmen but he made the trip to Norwich, United Kingdom to check out Shaun Jones’ world record attempt. See how Shaun Jones’ bid to squat lift the most weight in 24 hours went here.

     

    Finally the best of the rest from last month:

    Most runners linked to complete a marathon 

    The most runners linked to complete a marathon is 33 by Michael Wedemeyer and his 32 friends (all Germany) in 5 hr 45 min 59 sec at the Köln Marathon in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on 4 October 2009. 

    Longest squash marathon, singles 

    The longest marathon playing squash is 26 hr 30 min and was achieved by Gerard Arink and Wilbert Vogels (both Nethelands) at Stichting Jeugdland, Ulvenhout, Netherlands, on 18-19 December 2009. 

    Furthest distance static cycling in one hour - male 

    The greatest distance on a static cycle in one hour is 92.60 km (57.54 miles) and was achieved by Miguel Angel Castro (Spain) at the Tasagaya Sports Pavilion, Guimar, Tenerife, Spain, on 20 March 2010. 

     

    March  records

    

    The rugby union Six Nations threw up a whole host of new records, not least France’s double for the most wins of the six nations (5) and the most six nations grand slams (3). For a full list of the records broken check out Six Nations blog here.

     

    The IPL is in full swing and records are tumbling galore with Aussie big-hitter Adam Gilchrist (below) is firing sixes all over the place. The wicketkeeper has the record for the most sixes in the IPL a staggering 61 in just 39 games for the Deccan Chargers. 

    

    Fellow Australian batsmen David Warner (below) equalled a record last month without a bat in his hand. He took four catches in the match against the Rajasthan Royals for the Delhi Daredevils the most in an IPL match. Sachin Tendulkar did it for Mumbai in the first edition of IPL back in 2008.

    
    

    The new Formula One season started in Bahrain. Interestingly the track was used back in December for a very different purpose, culminating in the world record for the longest painting at 4,955 metres. Our very own Damian Field adjudicated, you can find out more here.

     

    

    On this occasion the race was won by Fernando Alonso (pictured above) but no records to celebrate this time. However we shouldn’t forget Fernando was once a record holder in his own right, the youngest Formula One World Champion at 24 when he won in 2005 – only to be pipped by Lewis Hamilton (aged 23 when he won it in 2008).

     

    What’s coming up in April

    The Baseball Major League starts in April with President Obama throwing the first pitch. There are plenty of records surrounding the Major League so check out Mike Janela’s blog including his top 3 Major League world records!

     

    

     

    On Thursday it is the US Masters and you thought I was going to mention a certain Tiger, but sorry to disappoint I’m only going to talk about the Golden Bear – Jack Nicklaus is the ultimate US Master having won the tournament six times between 1963 and 1986, the most wins of the US Masters. 

    

    

    There have been more recent records of course, last year we saw a record on the course with Anthony Kim scoring the most birdies in a round at the US Masters when he sunk 11 in his second round. 

     

    Later on this month Sheffield, United Kingdom plays host to the Snooker World Championships. Ronnie O’Sullivan is back looking to win his 4th championship. That would still leave him 11 away from Joe Davies who has won the most snooker World Championships. He triumphed 15 times in the pre-Crucible era between 1927 and 1946.

     

    

     

    And Finally…

    So you might have enjoyed our April Fools story last week and even fallen for our other one. But Kenyon Martin didn’t take too kindly to a former ball boy filling his car up with popcorn last week! The Denver Nuggets star threatened not to participate in the playoffs until the prankster owned up!

     

    Ok so I will mention Tiger then…

    

    I couldn’t really talk about the Masters without mentioning Tiger Woods. He’s back and already has dominated the tournament in recent times. He was the youngest winner of the competition in 1997 aged just 21 years 4 months and also recorded the largest margin of victory that year winning by 12 strokes. On Thursday he embarks on his quest for a fifth title. 

     

    By Ralph Hannah

    06 April 2010

     

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• Six Nations Round Up Six Nations Round Up

  • From: GWR_Ralph
  • Description:

    After 6 weeks, 15 games, 48 tries and 594 points the 2010 Six Nations Championships is over. France are the winners wrapping up their fifth title, the most Six Nations Championships and their third Grand Slam, the most Six Nations Grand Slams. Let’s have a look back over the tournament and re-cap our highlights.

    

    Match Week 1
    Ireland 29-11 Italy
    England 30-17 Wales
    Scotland 9-18 France

    

    In Croke Park, Dublin, the 2009 Grand Slam champions got off to a winning start. Ronan O’Gara kicked 16 points to take him past 500 points for the Championships and increasing his record for most points scored in the Five/Six Nations Championship. Traditional powerhouses England and France also got off to a winning start, with the English gaining revenge for their 2008 defeat at Twickenham to Wales.

    Match Week 2
    Wales 31-24 Scotland
    France 33-10 Ireland
    Italy 12-17 England

     

    Italy were consigned to their 45th defeat in 52 games, the most losses in the Six Nations Championships. France won again, beating Ireland in front of a crowd of 79,829 Parisians, an impressive attendance but way short of the highest ever in the five/six nations championships. On 1 March 1975 an incredible 104,000 people watched Scotland’s 12-10 win over Wales at Murrayfield! This time it was a tight affair in Cardiff, with Wales needing a last-gasp try from Shane Williams to pinch the points.

    Match Week 3
    Wales 20-26 France
    Italy 16-12 Scotland
    England 16- 20 Ireland

    Scotland lost their fifth consecutive game in the Championships as they succumbed to Italy in Rome by four points. England also lost by four points to Ireland at Twickenham but in the battle of the Championships’ top scorers the result was reversed. Ronan O’Gara kicked one conversion to add two points to his tally of 522 overall. But Jonny Wilkinson kicked 11 points including one drop goal to extend his record for the most drop goals scored in the five/six nations championships to 11 and close in on O'Garas points total. 

    Match Week 4
    Ireland 27-12 Wales
    Scotland 15-15 England
    France 46-20 Italy

    

    France marched on towards the Grand Slam with a resounding win against Italy with 66 points scored in the match. Not the highest aggregate score in the Six Nations Championship mind you, that was 103 points when England defeated Italy 80-23 in 2001. Ireland also kept their hopes of the Triple Crown alive by beating Wales at Croke Park, incidentally the last team to win there back in 2008. In Murrayfield England and Scotland played out a 15-15 draw. Jonny Wilkinson kicked 9 points before being injured to surpass Ronan O’Gara as the record holder for the most points but the Irishman still holds the record for the most penalties kicked in the tournament. Incidentally this was the first draw since Wales and Italy’s stalemate in March 2006 and only the third draw since Italy’s addition in 2000.

    Match Week 5
    Wales 33-10 Italy
    Ireland 20-23 Scotland
    France 12-10 England

    

    Ireland lost and with it their hopes of a triple crown, Italy lose yet again and France wrap up the Grand Slam…just. What a thrilling final weekend!  Below is a quick round up of the key records that were broken (or just extended) in the tournament.

    Most Six Nations titles – France (5)
    Most Six Nations Grand Slams – France (3)
    Most points scored in the Five/Six nations championships by an individual - Jonny Wilkinson (529)
    Most drop goals scored in the Five/Six nations championships – Jonny Wilkinson (11)
    Most conversions scored in the Five/Six Nations Championships – Jonny Wilkinson (85)
    Most penalties scored in the Five/Six Nations Championships – Ronan O’Gara (105)
    Most wins by a team in the Six Nations Championships – France (41)
    Most losses by a team in the Six Nation Championships – Italy (47)

    By Ralph Hannah

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• Winter Olympics - Final Update Winter Olympics - Final Update

  • From: gwr_mike
  • Description:

    Wow!

    That's about the only word to sum up the final weekend of competition in Vancouver, capped by one of the most memorable Olympic contests in any sport from any year when the Canadian men's hockey team bested the United States in an overtime gold medal game, 3-2.

    For a sudden-death victory to decide the final event played at an Olympic Games - and in an event that surely most of Canada would have told you was more important to win for that nation than the rest of the events combined - was about as epic and thrilling of a closing salvo as one could ask for.

    And if you'd like proof of just what this game meant then look no further than the man who scored the gold-medal winner, Sidney Crosby.

    Here stands a fully grown adult celebrating like a child who just opened the greatest Christmas present of all time. His reaction actually jokingly reminded me of this little YouTube superstar.

    The goal led to celebrations from Vancouver to Halifax, but what many fans might not have known at the time is that the victory over the USA helped trigger a pair of Guinness World Records achievements. First, the win took Canada to 14 gold medals in Vancouver, breaking the record for Most gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics Games by a country. The previous mark stood at 13 by the USSR at Innsbruck 1976 and Norway at Salt Lake City 2002. Second, the triumph also moved Canada into a tie for Most Winter Olympics ice hockey gold medals (male team). Sunday marked the eighth time Canadian men wore gold around their necks, matching the eight won by the USSR before it disbanded.

    For the record, Canada has now won in 2010, 2002 and each Olympics from 1920-1952, with the exception of 1936 (when Great Britain won its only ice hockey gold medal, with a team that featured 11 players who had previously played in Canada). Combine that with another gold medal for the Canadian women's team - who extended their own record of Most Winter Olympics ice hockey gold medals (female team) to three in Vancouver - and it's safe to say Canada dominates the ice like none other.

    The United States can take solace in the fact that its silver medal in the very last competition helped it secure a Guinness World Records feat in its own right. With nine golds, 15 silvers and 13 bronzes, the USA broke the record for Most medals won at a single Winter Olympics by a country, with a mark of 37 just inching past the 36 medals won by Germany in 2002.

    Needless to say, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics will be remembered for many things. But between the Canadian domination of gold and American success on the medal platform, we can officially say this Olympiad will go down as one of the most athletically successful ever.

    A record number of nations participated and 24 countries went home with hardware, from the USA's 37 to the single medals won by Great Britain, Estonia, and Kazakhstan (see the complete table here). To go back and relive some of the bigger highlights, be sure to check out our first, second and third updates from earlier in the Games.

    Next up on the transcendent global sports calendar is this summer's football World Cup in South Africa and it has some work cut out for it to match the splendor and record breaking we've seen the last two weeks in Vancouver.

    With that, we bid farewell to the 21st Olympic Winter Games. See you in Sochi 2014!

    Mike Janela

    1 March 2010

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• Winter Olympics - Update III Winter Olympics - Update III

  • From: gwr_mike
  • Description:

    It's the last weekend of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, and what a fun ride it has been.  The final two days still contain eight medal events, so Vancouver is finishing with a flurry and story lines still abound.

    One of the most intriguing is that of Canadian cross-country skier Brian McKeever (right). As soon as he hits the 50 km course on Sunday, McKeever will become the earliest male to participate in both the Olympics and Paralympics. McKeever suffers from Stargardt disease, a hereditary condition that has caused him to lose 90 percent of his vision. Still, as you can tell by this photo, it hasn't held him back in a highly decorated athletic career.  He has won seven total medals in the Paralympic games, notching two golds and a silver in cross country skiing in 2002 and 2006 as well as a bronze medal in biathlon in 2006.

    McKeever also becomes the earliest athlete to participate in an Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, blazing a trail in the cold that matches Marla Runyan, a United States distance runner who became the earliest athlete to participate in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games when she ran the 1,500 m at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics. Runyan had debuted at the 1992 Summer Paralympics and enjoyed a slew of accolades in her career, including five Paralympic golds and one silver across six different events. Not surprisingly, McKeever cites Runyan as one of his idols, and I'm sure she'll be on his mind as he tackles those 50 kilometres on Sunday.

    Now let's move from a subject of inspiration in McKeever to a topic of laughter in Scandinavian sartorial selections. Curling continues to swell with underground support as it becomes one of the surprisingly most popular sports at these Winter Olympics.

    A big reason for that? Pants.

    Check out the threads worn in Vancouver by the Norwegian men's curling team, whose fashion style has lit men's curling ablaze.

    Even King Harald of Norway now owns a pair and is grappling with whether or not to give them a whirl. The best part is, these pants aren't part of any novelty act: the Norwegians have reached the gold medal match against powerhouse Canada, to be decided Saturday afternoon. I have a feeling if Norway pulls off the upset (Canada defeated them, 7-6, in opening round play), these trousers will find many new owners in Oslo and beyond.

    Obviously both Norway and Canada will come away from that contest with medals, but that will still leave each nation looking up to Germany and the United States in the table. One last check of the medal count before the final weekend shows the USA leading all countries with 32 medals (8 gold, 12 silver, 12 bronze) and Germany a half-dozen behind at 26 (8 gold, 11 silver, 7 bronze).

    Putting that in perspective, the United States is four off the pace of Germany in 2002 when it achieved the most medals won at a single Winter Olympics by a country with 36. The record for most gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics by a country  appears safe, however, at 13 - accomplished first by the USSR at Inssbruck 1976 and equalled by Norway at Salt Lake City 2002.

    So enjoy the final few days of competition and check back next week for a round-up of what has been an action- and Guinness World Records-filled Winter Olympics. And if you'd like to do so while wearing your very own Norway-styled trousers, you're more than welcome.

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• Winter Olympics 2010 Update II Winter Olympics 2010 Update II

  • From: gwr_mike
  • Description:

    A little more than midway through the Winter Olympics fortnight, it's time for another update on all the action happening in Vancouver.

    For starters, be sure to check out our first update from last week, which recapped the Opening Ceremonies and some of the initial days' events from British Columbia. Boy has a lot happened since then!

    I'm sure our Canadian readers will have just one thing on their mind: ice hockey. As anyone who knows the sport can attest, the citizens of Canada are crazy about their game, and for good reason as they invented it. They've also mastered it on both the men's and women's sides of the ice. Team Canada are current Guinness World Records holders for Most men's ice hockey World Championships and Most women's ice hockey World Championships with 24 and 9, respectively.

    However, while the women's side has excelled at the Olympics as record holders for Most Winter Olympics ice hockey gold medals by a female team (having won two of the three), the men have fallen upon a gold shortage in modern history. After winning six of the first seven gold medals in Olympic ice hockey, the Canadian men have just one gold medal in the last 58 years, taking it home in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

    So what a treat it would be in the quarterfinal round of the men's tournament if Canada and its seven all-time gold medals meets Russia, another hockey powerhouse.  It was Russian predecessor the USSR that hold the Guinness World Records feat for Most Winter Olympics ice hockey gold medals by a male team with eight. Should Canada defeat Germany in a qualification playoff match as expected, these two iconic hockey superpowers will clash in the Round of Eight. To think that at least one of these two teams will leave Vancouver with no hockey medal at all is astounding.

    Away from the ice and to the snow, a current Guinness World Records holder dominated as expected in his lone Winter Olympics appearance, with Shaun White taking home gold in the men's snowboard halfpipe. How amazing was the Flying Tomato? He had already guaranteed himself the gold medal after just the first of his two runs in the finals, notching an original winning score of 46.8 in his first run before upping it to 48.4 on his second run for good measure. Tricks included the highly anticipated Double McTwist 1260, which may leave your jaw dropped after viewing.

    Not a bad addition to his five total Guinness World Records, including Most gold medals won at a Winter X Games and Most snowboarding medals at a Winter X Games.

    Lastly for now, a check on the total medals table shows a surprising nation atop the board: the United States. As of this writing, the USA leads all countries with 25 medals (7 gold, 8 silver, 10 bronze), ahead of traditional Winter Olympics powers Germany (21 total- 7 G, 9 S, 5 B), Norway (14 total- 6 G, 3 S, 5 B) and Russia (11 total- 2 G, 3 S, 6 B). Germany, in fact, has hauled the most total medals in three consecutive Olympics and may still have that opportunity: strong German events like the bobsleigh still have medal rounds awaiting. Norway can laugh loudest for now, though, as it remains the Guinness World Records holder for Most medals won at the Winter Olympics (country) with a total of 280 medals (98 gold, 98 silver, 84 bronze) entering the Vancouver games.

    Can the Canadian men's hockey team drive its country wild with a well-timed playoff run? Which individual will dazzle us next with their array of indescribable physical manuevers? Can some of the world's historic winter performers catch the U.S. in the medal count? It should be a thrilling final week in Vancouver as we find out.

    Mike Janela

    23 February 2010

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• Winter Olympics 2010 Update I Winter Olympics 2010 Update I

  • From: gwr_mike
  • Description:

    The first full weekend of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics has passed, and there has been plenty of action worth checking in on from beautiful British Columbia.

    The games opened, sadly, on a tragic note, as Nodar Kumaritashvili of the Republic of Georgia died while training for the luge competition on the Friday of Opening Ceremonies. Shocked and saddened by the news, the Olympic community pressed on with its Winter showcase event, and the solidarity and splendor with which the XXI Winter Olympic Games has proceeded shows the potent healing power of sport in times of tragedy.

    Vancouver officially kicked off its Winter Olympics with a dazzling Opening Ceremonies that was in fact the first ever to be held indoors. For obvious reasons, the permanent cauldron was then moved outside, which led to an equally beautiful scene.

    It also signified the start of a record-breaking Olympiad, as 82 participating countries in Vancouver combined to break the record for Most competitors at a Winter Olympic Games. The previous record belonged to the 2006 Winter Olympics, where 80 countries sent delegations to Turin, Italy.  How does a record like this keep getting broken? With nations like the Cayman Islands and their lone delegate, alpine skier Dow Travers, catching the winter bug. Average yearly temperature in the Cayman Islands? That would be 81 degrees Fahrenheit/27 Celsius.

    Once the games began, record-worthy performances soon followed. Quite the popular sport in recent years at the Winter Olympics has been short track speed skating and quite the popular figure has been American short track star Apolo Ohno. With his silver medal in the 1,500 m race Saturday, Ohno made American history by matching the career record for most medals won by an American Winter Olympian, matching Bonnie Blair's all-time record of six. But while a half-dozen haul is impressive, it still falls shy of both the men's and women's records for most Winter Olympics medals won by an individual. The most decorated female is nordic skiier Raisa Smetanina (USSR/Russia) with 10. And fellow nordic skiing icon Bjørn Dæhlie (Norway) leads everyone with a cool 12 medals. Check out video of some of his exploits in our first Winter Olympics blog if you haven't already. Enjoy the music in particular!

    Keeping to the ice, two notable performances also came on skillful skates in the competition's first few days. Dutch legend Sven Kramer won an elusive first career gold medal by setting an Olympic record in the 5,000 m speed skating event with a time of 6:14.60. That's a nice line to add to a C.V. that already includes the world record for the fastest 5,000 m, which Kramer set with a blistering 6:03.32 while competing in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 2007. Something about the maple leaf flag must really get Sven going.

    And while the pictured Canadian men's ice hockey team may have a world of pressure on its shoulders to win during a home Olympiad, their women's counterparts looked invincible in an Olympic-record 18-0 defeat of Slovakia in the opening game for each nation. Oddly enough, Slovakia has recently tasted it from the other side, having defeated Bulgaria 82-0 (!) in Olympic qualifying. A taste of one's own medicine for sure.

    Lastly, while not a world record, congratulations must go out to Alexandre Bilodeau, the Canadian moguls freestyle skier. His victory in the men's moguls freestyle skiing Sunday marked the first-ever gold medal for a Canadian in a home Olympics. You can tell by the video below how humbled and grateful he appears for his moment as the host country's man of the hour, and Canada has taken quite the liking to its new "Alexandre the Great" and "Golden Boy."

    With curling and men's ice hockey both beginning today, the action does not stop in Vancouver. It also doesn't stop here at GuinnessWorldRecords.com with our Winter Olympics coverage. Be sure to check out our special separate blog post on one of the most popular events - figure skating - and keep checking back here for the latest on the fastest, highest, farthest and best of the Winter Olympics.

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• Super Bowl Special! Super Bowl Special!

  • From: GWR_Ralph
  • Description:

    Welcome to the first ever spin off of the monthly sports blog…the Super Bowl Special! Here I pick my Top 3 Super Bowl records of all time, predict what records we could see go on the night and records surrounding this year’s teams you will ever need to know!

    Super Bowl XLIV is taking place on 7 February and without doubt it is one of the highlights of the 2010 sporting calendar. The New Orleans Saints have made it for the first time ever – can they finally shake the tag of the “Aints”?

    

    The Indianapolis Colts have been here before, and I don’t just mean the Super Bowl; their three previous appearances were in Miami. Peyton Manning will be hoping to repeat his performance in Superbowl XLI that earned him the MVP and the Colts franchise the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the second time.

    

    But before we get onto this year’s encounter let’s cast our mind back to some classic records and at the risk of a barrage of disagreement, I countdown my Top 3 favourite Super Bowl records.

    3. Fresh in the memory from last year, I remember falling off my chair when James Harrison impersonated Forest Gump to score the longest touchdown in a Super Bowl and put the Steelers in command at halftime.

    

    The longest touchdown in Super Bowl history is 100 yards, scored by James Harrison (USA) of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, at the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States, on 2 February 2009.

    2. Rewind to 2002, Adam Vinatieri scores a 48 yard field goal. Patriots win the Super Bowl by 3! Two years later… Adam Vinatieri scores a 41 yard field goal. Patriots win the Super Bowl by 3! In 2007 he kicked three more field goals to help the Colts to victory and in the process taking his total number of Superbowl field goals to seven the most field goals by an individual in a Superbowl career.

    1. It’s 2007 and I had just finished telling my friends that there was no way the Bears would win the Super Bowl…and I was right. But I did get a bit worried about my prophecy when this happened!

    Devin Hester (USA) playing for the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl XLI, became the first player in Super Bowl history to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, on 5 February 2007.

    And those are my favourite three records in Super Bowl history, disagree? Have a slightly longer memory than me? Then tell me your top in the comments box at the bottom of the page!

    Now back to this year, the Guinness World Records team have already been discussing some of their favourite records of this year’s NFL season, the postseason saw a couple of records fall, read about those in the main section of the January Sports Blog. But what about the records that we might see go on 7 February?

    New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts are both strong offensive outfits just look at the stats. So the highest aggregate score in a Super Bowl could be under threat. It currently stands at 75 when the 49ers pummelled the Chargers 49-26 at Super Bowl XXIX.

    

    When you think of the best passers in the game look no further than the two Quarterbacks on show. Peyton Manning is already a multiple record holder, he has the most passing touchdowns in a decade (314), the most passing yards in a decade (42,254) and most seasons passing more than 4,000 yards – he has now done it for 10 straight seasons!

    The 2008 offensive player of the year Drew Brees has already proved he is more accurate than an Olympic archer. Back in the 2007 season he completed 443 passes, the most passes completed in an NFL regular season. This campaign,  like Peyton Manning he passed over 4,000 yards in regular season and was in the top 5 for postseason passers.

    

    With that kind of pedigree don’t be surprised if either Brees or Manning top Tom Brady’s mark for the most passes completed in a Super Bowl game – he threw 32 in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Or maybe, just maybe, Steve Young’s long standing record for the most touchdown passes in a Super Bowl could be broken. He threw six passes for the 49ers in that 49-26 demolition job mentioned above.

    As for the teams, the Colts are proud record holders of the most consecutive NFL game wins. Before their 29-15 reverse against the New York Jets on 27 December, they had won an amazing 23 straight games going back to November 2008. The Saints aren’t overflowing with records – sorry Saints fans it’s true! – but special mention to Reggie Bush who ran in 2 return touchdowns in 2008 against the Vikings, tying the record for the most return touchdowns scored in an NFL match by an individual.

    Finally I leave you with a golden piece of Super Bowl trivia, they may not be records but it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t let you know that this is the first ever year that the Super Bowl number matches the number of the current US president. That’s right folks, Barack Obama is the 44th president during Super Bowl XLIV and there is a whole website about it here if you want to learn more!

    Ralph Hannah (with help from Mike Janela)

    Don’t agree with my Top 3 – comment below!
    Want to know more about my sports blog – here it is.

    29 January 2010

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• January Sports Blog January Sports Blog

  • From: GWR_Ralph
  • Description:

    2010 has only just started but I’ve already got loads of records to whet your appetite for the rest of the year! This month we have long throw-ins, pull ups, veterans, young guns and a Super Bowl Special! For a change let’s start by having a look at what has come through the Guinness World Records offices this month because there has been plenty of record-breaking from you the public.

    What you did this month!!

    In last month’s blog (link) I told you Danny Brooks had broken the record for the longest football throw-in and now we have the footage (with some fantastic commentary from the cameraman) so you can see the 49.78 metre effort for yourselves.

    Also in last month’s blog I showed you North American pair Luke Myers and Tyler Cole break the record for the fastest sport stacking doubles cycle stack at 7.47 sec. Check out how German brothers Jonathan and Samuel Kettler got on when they attempted it.

    In yet another throwback to last month we told you Steve Hyland had set the record for most pull ups in one hour at 953, well now he has gone even better and is closing in on the 1,000 mark! The most pull ups in one hour is 994 by Stephen Hyland (UK) in Stoneleigh, Surrey, UK, on 1 January 2010.

    Dale Sheppard set the record for the longest golf shot seated, he drove the ball an incredible 113.55 m (372 ft 6 in) at the Moonah Links Golf Club's Open Course 11th hole in Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, on 27 November 2009.

    
    And here is the best of the rest that got the Guinness World Records stamp of approval this month. Congratulations to all involved, keep these records coming!

    Most people keeping a football in the air
    The most individuals each keeping a football in the air at the same time is 792. The record, organised by the Jogo Bonito Europa LLC (Hungary), was set during the International Youth Football Tournament in Kaposvar, Hungary, on 23 July 2009.

    Longest distance swimming in relay (open water)
    The longest distance swimming in relay in open water is 684.75 km (425.48 miles) and was achieved by a team of swimmers at Lake Camlough, Camlough, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, between 9 to 19 September 2009.

    Youngest runner to complete 100 marathons (female)
    The youngest female to run 100 marathons is Melanie Johnstone (United Kingdom, b. 7 December 1974) aged 34 years 279 days when she completed the 2009 Moray Marathon, in Elgin, Scotland, United Kingdom, on 13 September 2009.

    Longest journey kite surfing (male)
    The longest kitesurfing journey is 178.50 nautical miles (330.58 km; 205.41 statute miles) and was achieved by Steen Carstens(Denmark) who travelled from Sprogo, Denmark to Lysekil, Sweden, on 17 August 2009.

    
    January records

    Over in the states there were plenty of records to get the year off to an incredible start.

    On 24 January Brett Favre missed out on his quest to be the oldest Quarterback to win a Super Bowl after the Vikings crushing overtime defeat to the New Orleans Saints. But not to worry Favre fans, Brett notched up yet another Guinness World Record in that game, the most postseason passing yards in an NFL career now stands at 5,855 yards.  Favre broke the record with the 310 passing yards he managed during the conference championship game.

    

    Two weeks earlier, Favre’s old team the Green Bay Packers were involved in a record-breaking encounter with last year’s surprise package the Arizona Cardinals. There were 12 touchdowns in regular play, eight of them in the second half and when Karlos Dansby got into the endzone in overtime it ended the match at 51-45 to the Cardinals. The highest score in an NFL playoff game!

    

    From NFL to NBA and 37 year old basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal reached 28,000 points this month, a great achievement…but not a record. The most NBA points in a career is held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and standing at 38,387 so Shaq still has a bit to do. January did see a basketball record though; step forward Kobe Bryant the youngest individual to score 25,000 points in an NBA Career. The Los Angeles Lakers player was just 31 years and 151 days old when he sunk a free throw against Shaq’s Cavaliers on 21 January 2010.

    

     

    In the Australian Open there are two Brits in the finals, Andy Murray faces Roger Federer in the men's singles and his Hopman Cup partner Laura Robson has made the girl's finals at just 16 years of age. Of course she is a long way of Martina Hingis, who at 16 years 117 days was the youngest ever winner of a senior Australian Open title when she won the 1997.

    

    Finally on 15 January in the Dubai Mall Guinness World Records adjudicator Matt Boulton officiated two attempts by Mehdi Hobbedarvish. Check out how he got on in his attempts to break the most consecutive tennis ball touches in one minute using feet and the longest time controlling a tennis ball with the feet. 

     
    What’s coming up in February

    On the very first weekend we are treated to Super Bowl Sunday, and there are just too many records to talk about in this blog, so for the lowdown on the classic Super Bowl records over the years check out my Superbowl Special!
    Also For a look at the top NFL records in 2009 you can get a sneak peek of our favourites here.

    The six nations is back on  6 February with defending champions Ireland taking on Italy at Croke Park. But it could be the old England Ireland rivalry that is of most interest from a records front. Ireland’s vice captain Ronan O’Gara has scored the most points in the tournament, he is on 499 just 20 ahead of England’s Jonny Wilkinson who has been named in Martin Johnson’s England squad. Wilkinson has scored the most points in a match – 35 against Italy in 2001, most in a season – 89 again in 2001 and of course has the most points in international rugby union with 1,125 in 79 matches. The tournament runs until 20 March and it promises to be an intriguing battle.

    

    That's it for this month but don't foget the Winter Olympics is also coming up in February and so will our Winter Wonderland preview. Check back soon for more details!

    

    Ralph Hannah

    Was your record featured this month? Think I missed something out? Give me your thoughts in the comments box below!

    29 January 2010

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• December Sports Blog December Sports Blog

  • From: GWR_Ralph
  • Description:

    December sports blog

    The record-breaking didn’t slow down for Christmas and this month we have young teams, old heroes, comebacks, new record holders, summer vaulting, winter jumping and a football throw in to put Rory Delap to shame! Check it all out below.

    Your favourite sports record of the decade?

    With only a few days until we start 2010, you can still vote for your top sports record of the decade! Whether it is the continuous dominance of a sport throughout the decade (Roger Federer and Lance Armstrong) or a brilliant year (New England Patriots going 16-0) or just an incredible moment (9.58 seconds to be exact) there is a selection of records to choose from and you can cast your vote right here!

    December records

    Arsenal have developed a reputation under Arsene Wenger for giving opportunities to young players. As the London club had already qualified for the second phase of the Champions League the Frenchman lived up to that reputation in record-breaking fashion. Pictured below is the Arsenal team who took on Greek Champions Olympiacos on 9 December 2009, a.k.a the Champions League team with the youngest average age. The starting XI averaged out at just 20.9 years old – a whole 7 months younger on average than the Ajax class of 2003 (including a young Rafael Van De Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Zlatan Ibrahimovic) who were the previous record holders.

    

    Last year Harlequins took on Leicester at Twickenham in front of 50,000 spectators the highest attendance for a Guinness Premiership Rugby Union match. This year Harlequins played Wasps at the same venue but went one better, or 26,716 better to be precise as 76,716 fans braved the cold on 27 December to watch a thrilling encounter that was just edged by Wasps by one point as they ran out 21-20 winners.

    

    What’s coming up in 2010!

    2010 is a fascinating year for sport with plenty to get excited for – there is simply too much to hypothesise about in this blog but here is a selection of just some of the main events from the first half of the year and the records that we could see go…

    In January Angola hosts the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time. Samuel Eto’o is already the all time top scorer in the competition with 16 goals but he will be looking to try and break Ndaye Mulamba’s 36 year old record of the most goals in a single Africa Cup of Nations. The Congolese forward and national hero (he is the one in the middle holding the shirt by the way) managed nine goals in the 1974 edition of the tournament and guided Zaire to their second and last Africa Cup of Nations championship.

    

    February is the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. The games have traditionally been dominated by Norway who has the most gold medals, 98, and the most medals overall with 280. It was also a Norwegian who managed the longest competitive ski jump with a mind-blowing 239 metres (784 feet) in Planica, Slovenia in 2005. Ok, ok so Bjorn Einar Romoren’s jump didn’t happen at a Winter Olympics but it was just an excuse to show this video again!

     

     

    In March the new Formula One season begins and the ‘dream team’ of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton threaten to win the constructor’s championship for McLaren and maybe outscore the 262 points that Ferrari managed in 2004, the most points by a constructor in a Formula One season. However an ex-Ferrari driver might have something to say about that. Michael Schumacher is back racing for Mercedes GP (formerly Brawn GP) and is confident he can challenge for the title. If he did win then that would be an incredible eighth Formula One title to add to the record-breaking seven he already has.

    

    The end of April and beginning of May sees the third edition of the ICC World Twenty20 arrive in the West Indies for two weeks of action-packed boundary-filled cricket. The 2009 World Twenty20 saw an incredible 173 sixes!!  While we are on the subject of maximums the most sixes in a Twenty20 international inning is 10 by Chris Gayle and back in the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup Yuvraj Singh of India managed six sixes in six balls against England – relive it again below! 

    In June the World Cup kicks off in Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa. Italy are defending champions and if the Azzurri, unbeaten in qualifying, are victorious in South Africa they would equal Brazil’s five trophies, the most wins of the FIFA football World Cup.

    

    On the other side of the coin the hosts will be desperately hoping to get out of a tough group to ensure they don’t suffer the ignominy of becoming the first host nation to be eliminated in the first round of a football World Cup.

    What you did this month!!

    Well done to everybody who set a new Guinness World Records record in December here are a just a few highlights.

    Most vaults in one hour
    The most vaults in one hour by a team of 10 is 6,250 and was achieved by The Blue Falcons Gymnastic Display Team (all UK) at The Meadows Shopping Centre, in Chelmsford, Essex, UK on 5 September 2009.

    Fastest sport stacking doubles cycle stack
    The fastest sport stacking doubles cycle stack is 7.47 seconds and was achieved by Tyler Cole (Canada) and Luke Myer (USA), at the WSSA Tri-State Sport Stacking Championships in Quincy, Illinois, USA, on 19 September 2009.

    Longest football throw-in
    The longest throw-in (football) is 49 m 78 cm (163 ft 3.8 in) by Danny Brooks (UK) at Midgley Recreational Ground, Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK, on 6 September 2009.

    Check the throw-in here if you don't believe us!!

    Most pull ups in one hour
    The most pull ups in one hour is 953 by Stephen Hyland (UK) in Stoneleigh, Surrey, UK on 28 October 2009.

    Fastest marathon in a suit
    The fastest marathon dressed in a full suit is 3 hr 24 min 46 sec and was achieved by Paul Buchanan (UK) at the Lifestyle Sports - adidas Dublin Marathon, Dublin, Ireland, on 26 October 2009.

    Longest five-a-side football (soccer) marathon
    The longest five a side football marathon is 27 hr 15 min, achieved by the players of the Collingwood College Challengers and the Radio Basingstoke Bandits teams (both UK), at The Sports Centre, Collingwood College in Camberley, Surrey, UK, on 17-18 October 2009.

    Longest marathon playing tennis, singles
    The longest marathon playing tennis, singles is 36 hours 36 min and 36 sec and was achieved by Jeroen Wagenaar (Netherlands) and Serge Fernando (Netherlands) at the Tennis Society 'T.C. de Kooistee' in Hellevoetslius, Netherlands, on 12 September 2009.

    Ralph Hannah

    29 December 2009

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