By Sarah Mills
Britain’s Paul Swift has spent most of his life on two wheels – starting with the garden lawn mower.
Now he is among the super-skilled people, expert at doing unusual and difficult things that are being celebrated on Thursday by Guinness World Records Day.
Swift, who has graduated to driving a pick up truck on only two of its wheels managed a record-breaking squeeze through an 88-centimetre gap set up in a stunt area at Britain’s Silverstone race course.
“I’ve been driving on two wheels since the age of seven – I started on the garden lawn mower – so to get a world record that recognises that is fantastic,” he said.
Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday, who was on hand to adjudicate Swift’s record ride, said this year’s theme is super skills.
“Guinness World Records Day is a global celebration of the superlative,” he said.
Other record-breakers being lauded include a team in Japan. It broke the record for consecutive, double-dutch-style handstand-skipping with two people, which involves skipping while performing handstands as ropes are turned in opposite directions.
In China, the extremely agile Zhou Quan set a record for the highest number of consecutive leg full twist back somersaults, managing 11 in a row.
The United States, meanwhile, boasts Henry Cabelus who holds eight world records after achieving the highest backflip Pogo Stick jump, making it over a height of 3.07 metres (10.07 ft). “I feel pretty good about that, that just makes me want to go for ten now. So I’ve got to start thinking about the other ones,” he said.
(Reporting by Sarah Mills; editing by Barbara Lewis)
