Welcome to the Oddball Olympics! What’s your favorite sport? Whether you’re into skateboarding, archery, basketball, or even diving, someone has found a way to turn it into a crazy world record! You won’t believe what some of these astonishing athletes are capable of. . . .
The most balls juggled is 11. This record was set by Alex Barron of the UK, who managed 23 consecutive catches in what is known as a “qualifying” juggling run, on April 3, 2012.
Alex Barron was 18 years old at the time of the attempt. He had spent two years practicing for this moment. The juggling record had not been broken for 16 years. On the day in question, he spent four and a half hours in a squash court trying to reach his target. He was getting pretty tired by the time he finally achieved this number!
Barron also jointly holds the record for most balls flashed by a juggler. In 2012, Barron also flash-juggled the most beanbags: 13. Flashing is different from a qualifying run as it only requires each ball to be thrown and caught once.
Sure, lots of people like to skateboard. But how many skateboarders have gone faster than the highway speed limit? Meet Mischo Erban of Canada, who set the world record on June 18, 2012. Erban’s record for fastest skateboard speed, standing is 80.74 miles per hour!
The longest time holding a person overhead vertically is 1 minute, 16 seconds. This amazing feat of strength was achieved by Markus Ferber and Clarissa Beyelschmidt (both from Germany) on March 11, 2010.
Ah, there’s nothing like a clean dive off a tall diving board into . . . a foot of water? That’s a pretty risky dive! The highest shallow dive was from a height of 37 feet, 11 inches into 12 inches of water and was achieved by Darren Taylor (aka Professor Splash) on the set of CCTV—Guinness World Records Special in Xiamen, Fujian, China, on September 9, 2014.
Some people would be pretty proud to set a record for running a marathon, but Elizabeth King of the UK wanted to go one further. With her finishing time of 4 hours, 13 minutes, 24 seconds, King ran the fastest marathon dressed as a fruit by a female. She completed the race in a strawberry costume.
The fastest crossing of the Sahara Desert by bicycle took 13 days, 5 hours, 50 minutes, 14 seconds, set by Reza Pakravan of Iran in 2011. The sweltering bike race started in Algeria and concluded in Sudan. The total distance cycled was 1,083.85 miles.
The longest duration juggling three objects while suspended upside down is 12 minutes, 50 seconds. Professional juggler and circus performer Quinn Spicker from Canada set this record on July 22, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Running in armor probably makes a lot of noise. When Peter Pedersen of Denmark set the record for fastest marathon wearing armor, he was making noise for 6 hours, 46 minutes, 59 seconds. Peter clinked, clanked, and clonked his way into the record books on September 21, 2008. He wore full medieval battle armor—including boots, helmet, and gauntlets. The total weight was 62 pounds!
The longest duration spinning a basketball on the head was 18.11 seconds by Mehmet Kekec of Germany at the Soccer Meets Schanze charity event in Hamburg, on May 28, 2011. Kekec began by spinning the ball on his finger, before moving it to his head when the official attempt began.
The record for the largest trick roping loop by a male was achieved by Charlie Keyes. He spun a loop around himself using 107 feet, 2 inches of rope at the Will Rogers International Wild West Expo in Claremore, Oklahoma, on April 22, 2006.
On June 4, 2006, sharpshooter Luis Caídas Martín of Spain set the fastest time to shoot 10 arrows—1 minute, 7 seconds.
The fastest football kick by a machine is 139.8 miles per hour. This remarkable robotic kicker was built by Castrol Ichi-Go in Japan. The record-setting soccer kick (football is the British term, of course!) took place at Olympic Plaza of National Yoyogi Stadium, Tokyo, Japan, on June 19, 2010.
How nimble are your toes? Can you pick things up with them? Wiggle them separately? Here are some truly fantastic feet: they fired an arrow into a target from 20 feet away—the farthest arrow shot using feet. Nancy Siefker achieved this feat on the set of Guinness World Records Unleashed in Los Angeles, California, on June 20, 2013.
Running five kilometers (3.1 miles) is no joke. Running five kilometers while juggling three balls is also no joke. Running five kilometers in swimming fins while juggling three balls . . . well, that’s pretty funny. But it’s also really hard! Ashrita Furman set the record for fastest five kilometers joggling in swim fins when he managed it in 32 minutes, 3 seconds. This astonishing record was set on May 30, 2012, in Houštka, Czech Republic.
The fastest marathon dressed as a snowman is 3 hours, 47 minutes, 39 seconds. Congratulations to David Smith of the UK, who set this record at the Luton Marathon in Luton, Bedfordshire, UK, on November 20, 2011!
Climbing a pole is hard enough, but doing it while you’re upside down is nearly impossible! In 60 seconds, the remarkable Nele Bruckmann of Germany managed to ascend 31 feet, 11 inches feet first! She set the farthest distance climbed up a pole upside down in one minute on the set of Guinness World Records—Die größten Weltrekorde in Cologne, Germany, on September 1, 2007.
If Wim Hof of the Netherlands didn’t get cold feet before taking on this record, he certainly must have during the attempt! He ran the fastest half marathon while barefoot on ice/snow in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 34 seconds, near Oulu, Finland, in 2007.
Joanne Singleton of the UK managed a half marathon—that’s 13.1 miles!—in just 1 hour, 35 minutes, 45 seconds. And here’s the best part . . . she was dressed as a strawberry while she did it! That makes Singleton the female holder of the Guinness World Records title for fastest half marathon dressed as a fruit.
The oldest wing-walker is Thomas Lackey of the UK. At the age of 93 years, 100 days, he completed a wing walk between Stranraer, Scotland, and Derry, Northern Ireland, on August 29, 2013. Lackey has held this record four times in the past and completed his first wing walk when he was in his 80s.
Wing-walking is when a passenger stands on or moves around the wing of a plane while it is in flight.
The longest wingsuit flight is 9 minutes, 6 seconds, and was achieved by Jhonathan Florez above La Guajira, Colombia, on April 20, 2012.
The fastest marathon dressed as a Mr. Potato Head was run in 3 hours, 38 minutes, 20 seconds. The potato in question was Andrew McKenzie of Australia, who ran his record-setting race on October 14, 2012.
Rimas Kinka of Lithuania holds the world record for the longest distance kite surfing in 24 hours. Kinka made it 401.2 miles off the coast of Islamorada, Florida, on February 26, 2012.
The fastest one-mile sack race was completed in 16 minutes, 41 seconds by Ashrita Furman in Baruun Salaa in Mongolia, on May 19, 2007. Cheering him on throughout the attempt was a local man and his yak!
Juggling three balls while hanging upside down is hard enough, but add a fourth ball and you’re in Guinness World Records territory! Zdeněk Bradáč of the Czech Republic juggled four balls while suspended with gravity boots on November 1, 2010, earning him the title for the most balls juggled while suspended upside down!
As part of an event seeking to raise awareness for local disability services and accessibility in Liverpool, UK, Brit Stephen Rainey took on the challenge to perform the most manual wheelchair spins in one minute on July 23, 2015. He achieved a dizzying 66 rotations, beating the previous mark by three.
Marawa Ibrahim of Australia knows how to get some real speed in skates . . . even when those skates are high-heeled! Marawa the Amazing, as she is also known, set the record for fastest 100 meters (328 feet) on high-heeled roller skates on August 21, 2013. She covered the distance in just 26.1 seconds!
The most artistic cycling rounds in a row while holding the raiser head tube reverse shoulder-stand position is four. This remarkable record was set by super-talented sisters Carla and Henriette Hochdorfer from Germany on the set of Lo Show dei Record in Rome, Italy, on March 18, 2010.
The most bowling balls juggled is three! This heavy record was set by Milan Roskopf of Slovakia. Each ball weighed 10 pounds, and Roskopf juggled them for 28.69 seconds at the Prague juggling marathon, in the Czech Republic, on November 19, 2011.