By Áine Fox
Life begins at 80 for two of this year’s Guinness World Record holders, who have excelled at DJing and acrobatics.
The octogenarians join a host of achievers in the latest catalogue of extreme feats.
Betty Goedhart, 85, soared to the top of the list to become the oldest performing female flying trapeze artist.
Goedhart, from California, proved it is never too late, having taken up classes aged 78.
Chef-turned-DJ Sumiko Iwamura, 83, offered sage advice after being named the oldest professional club DJ.
The restaurant owner from Tokyo, who spins the decks for crowds after finishing her shift as a cook, said: “Try something and don’t give up... there are opportunities lying around every corner.”
Iwamura, who could be forgiven for feeling too tired to take on her slot as DJ Sumirock after working all day, said: “Doing something totally different is energising.”
Barry John Crowe, 28, from Co Cavan who holds the record for the most sausages made in a minute as he appears in the latest edition of Guinness World Records. Picture: Paul Michael Hughes/Guinness World Records/PA
Speedy butcher Barry John Crowe, 28, from Cavan, made 78 sausages in a minute, while artist Elizabeth Bond, known as Betsy, 31 from Wiltshire, created the largest knitting needles at 4.4m long.
Betsy Bond, Wiltshire, holds the record for having the largest knitting needles at 4.4m long.
Canine companions also made their presence felt, skipping and jumping their way into the record books.
Feather and Geronimo surprised owner Samantha Valle, 31, from Maryland in the US, by showing off their unusual skills after she rescued them.
The athletic animals have since achieved records for the highest jump by a dog, at 191.7cm, and the most double Dutch-style skips by a dog in a minute — 128 — respectively.
Tom Bagnall from Staffordshire created a jet-propelled go-kart which reaching speeds of 112.29mph — making it the world’s fastest.
It took the 26-year-old a year to make the vehicle as he indulged his love of engineering in his workshop.
Matt Denton, Winchester, holds the record for having the largest rideable hexapod robot.
This year’s book features a section dedicated to the so-called maker movement, recognising inventors and creators of such things as the biggest water pistol and toothpick sculptures.
Their achievements can all be found in the 2019 Guinness World Records book, released today.
Some of the 2019 Guinness World Records in numbers
FM Kahn holds the record for having the largest collection of clown items.
- 10: the most dice balanced on a cat’s paw
- 14: the most fire-breathing backflips in one minute
Ryan Luney holds the record for the most fire-breathing backflips in one minute.
- 84 years, 249 days: the oldest performing flying trapeze artist
- 516: the most body modifications on a male
Rolf Buchholz holds the record for the most body modifications for a male.
- 78: the number of sausages produced in one minute
- 83 years, 188 days: the oldest professional club DJ
- 191.7cm: highest jump by a dog
- 4.4m: the largest knitting needles
- 128: the most double Dutch-style skips by a dog in one minute
