Do you lack the nerve?

Belarusians are not ashamed of the achievements reflected in the pages of the Guinness Book of Records

In its 66 years of existence, the Guinness Book of World Records has evolved from a fun betting guide to an authoritative annual guide with information on record achievements from around the world. Our country, by the way, is also represented there: many of the achievements included in the Guinness Book of Records in different years are made by Belarusians.

Challenging a sand pit!

Belarus is, of course, a country of blue lakes and green forests, as well as the biggest vehicles. The BELAZ heavy-duty dump truck with a capacity of 4,600HP and weighing 810 tonnes was included in the Guinness Book of Records last year. Machinery from Zhodino has also previously appeared on the pages of the publication.

Photo: www.rbstroy.by

Thus, in 2015, the manufacturer received certificates from the Guinness World Records Company for two achievements of the 450-tonne BELAZ-75710 at once: the vehicle was recognised as the world’s largest two-axle dump truck and its body was the largest body of a heavy-duty dump truck.

All familiar faces 

In 1995, Belarusian painter Aleksandr Kishchenko was registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the author of the world’s largest tapestry. At that time, he completed work on the man-made Tapestry of the Century, which measures 19m high and 14m wide and has a total area of 266sq.m, weighing 286kg. The process of creating this masterpiece took five years, there are about a hundred figures on the canvas — almost all the great people of planet Earth for the entire 20th century. Unfortunately, this last work of Aleksandr Kishchenko was exhibited only a few times.

There is strength — there will be luck

The famous Belarusian weightlifter Vyacheslav Khoroneko is a repeated hero of the Guinness Book of Records. Many of his records have not yet been broken. A couple of years ago, our hero admitted in an interview that the authors of the worldwide publication did not encourage their heroes for achievements alone; on the contrary, you also need to pay to get on the publicised pages. 
However, for the sake of prestige, you should try. For Vyacheslav himself, all these records are a way of self-expression: he likes to demonstrate the physical capabilities of a person and promote a healthy lifestyle. In early November 2021, 60-year-old Khoroneko set a new world record: during the Belarus Kettlebell Lifting Championship, he exceeded his own achievement in the bench press with one arm, lifting a 24kg kettlebell 181 times in 170 seconds. 
Other Belarusian athletes are also regularly marked in the Guinness Book of Records. For example, Sergei Zaslavsky, who boasts achievements in multi-repetitive push-ups from the floor on the fists and other disciplines. Or Sergei Kudaev, who performed 51 push-ups in a vertical handstand in one minute in 2018. Moreover, Maksim Trukhonovets also set several achievements for the Guinness Book of Records: in 2016 — in the maximum number of pull-ups with additional weight (18kg) per minute, in 2018 — for most consecutive muscle ups, in May 2020, he wrote his name there for the third time while the most recent record dates back to July 3rd, 2021.
 

Master of balance 

In 2012, Mogilev resident Aleksandr Bendikov, a multiple Guinness Book of Record holder, set a record for the maximum number of matches stacked on the neck of a bottle: 20,270. The tireless master of balance was also noted for other achievements, for example, he put 257 coins in a column on the edge of a coin or set a record for balancing nails, holding 349 nails on the head of one fastener.

Walls help even on a visit

Our country is also related to some records, the authorship of which belongs to foreigners. For example, the Italian professional track and road cyclist Filippo Ganna set a new world record in the individual track pursuit (4km) in November 2019. This happened at the stage of the World Cup in Minsk. In the final race, Ganna showed a time of 4 minutes 02.647 seconds.
However, there is also a reverse example. The Gomel resident Dmitry Dudarev, who worked in the circus of China in 2017, specialising in power extreme, decided to hold his weight with his jaw as long as possible. As a result, he was suspended for 7 minutes and 15 seconds by his teeth at a height of 73 centimetres from the floor.

Trust but verify

The Guinness Book of Records cannot be called a comprehensive encyclopaedia of world achievements. Firstly, it is clear that not all record updates become known to publishers. Secondly, not all record holders have sponsors for the appropriate registration of this or that event or fact. Thirdly, there is no full guarantee that all the stated facts are 100 percent verified. Fourthly, and most importantly, only three percent of all records in the world are included in the printed version of the Guinness Book of Records.
Nevertheless, it is pleasant that in different years Belarus has appeared on the pages of the edition many times from various angles. For example, the website of the Guinness World Records lists it as the country with the highest female labour force participation at 53.3 percent (the year is not specified). Another curious fact is also reflected: in 2004, we had more cinemas per capita than any other country in the world: there was one cinema for every 2,734 people. However, the website says that 10,335,000 people lived in Belarus in 2004, while according to the data of the National Statistical Committee, the figure was 9,762,000...

Flipping through the pages
On the website of the Guinness Book of Records, such records from the Belarusian past are also mentioned: 
• The oldest gold medallist at the World Championships in Athletics: Belarusian discus thrower Ellina Zvereva won the women’s competition on August 11th, 2001, in Edmonton (Canada), when she was 40 years and 268 days old.
• Darya Domracheva has won the most gold medals in the women’s biathlon at the Winter Olympics: four. 
• In May 2017, multiple Guinness Book of Records holder Anatoly Yezhov kept the weight of 20kg on his outstretched arms for 2 minutes 39 seconds. The achievement was recorded in the Russian Arkhangelsk.
• Ihar Boki — a Belarusian Paralympic swimmer who competes among athletes with visual impairments, is the owner of a number of current world swimming records, including in 100m butterfly, 400m freestyle, 100m backstroke, etc.

Based on materials of sb.by
Open source photos