LONDON: From hula hooping on stilts to pulling cars with your teeth, people from across the Arab world showed off their amazing talents on Thursday to mark the 19th annual Guinness World Records Day.
The theme of this year’s event was “Super Skills” and there was no shortage of unusual expertise on show.
In Dubai, UAE and Middle East freestyle football champion Ammar Alkhudairi broke two records with his amazing soccer skills.
The “Arabs Got Talent” semifinalist, also known as Ammar Freez, claimed his first all-time best by making 87 football touches in 30 seconds while hanging by one hand from a bar.
His second came with the help of Abdulla Al-Hattawi, with the two men racking up 70 football touches while performing a wheelie on a quad bike. That was also Al-Hattawi’s fourth world best — as recognized by Guinness — after he was part of a 17-person team in June that achieved the most riders on a single quad bike, traveling 100 meters in 49.5 seconds.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Sarra Rokbani from Tunisia got her name in “Guinness World Records” by achieving 91 full-contact martial arts kicks in 30 seconds while on a treadmill.
The second-year student has a large internet following and is well known for her amazing martial art stunts and fabulous long hair.
Equally impressive was five-time record holder Yazan Saleh, who became the fastest man to pull a car for 30 meters with his teeth, clocking a time of 18.13 seconds. The Syrian strongman also equaled another record after achieving 25 consecutive hurdle hops.
Records were also being set elsewhere in the world, including in London, where performance artist Mariam Olayiwola, also known as Amazi, managed to spin 25 hula hoops simultaneously while walking on stilts.
Likewise, 14-year-old contortionist Liberty Barros broke the record for the fastest 20 meter backbend knee lock, bending her body backwards while walking the distance in 22 seconds.
In China, cyclist Zhang Jing Kun took the record for most bunny hops to rear onto a bar in one minute, with 14, while in Mexico, Nicolas Montes de Oca achieved three titles: most single-arm handstands in a minute with 23 repetitions, most handstands in a minute, with 41, and most alternating single-arm handstands in a minute, with 32.
Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of “Guinness World Records,” described Guinness World Records Day as “a global celebration of the superlative.”
“We’ve all got skills, we’ve all got party tricks, but are they good enough to make it into the ‘Guinness World Records’ book?” he said.
