Charlie O’Brien, 16, from Napier said it all started off as a joke and "escalated from there."
Enjoying a swing set underneath the moonlight might be a romantic activity for some, but for this New Zealand teen, it was part of his path to completing the longest marathon on a swing in the world.
Charlie O’Brien, 16, from Napier, New Zealand, may just be the latest Guinness World Record holder after swinging for more than 33 hours straight.
The Taradale High School student began his venture at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, swung through the night and completed the attempt at 3:21 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
To keep himself going, he ate gingernut biscuits and took seasickness tablets to ease the motion sickness and drank energy drinks and hot chocolate. O’Brien was also given a five-minute break every hour, during which he ate and used the bathroom.
At one point, he accrued four breaks and was able to take a short 20-minute nap.
"I'll keep going on for a bit, but I'll be honest, I don't know how much longer I can last,” he said sometime during the attempt.
But O’Brien persisted, despite his feet turning purple from lack of circulation and his rear going numb from sitting on the swing set for so long.
He ended up beating a 2013 record also set in New Zealand, when an Auckland woman swung for 32 hours straight. The record still needs to be verified officially.
O’Brien joked in an interview to Reuters that the massive feat began as a joke among friends.
“We were joking, but I ended up saying, 'Yeah, I’m going to beat the world swinging record, dude,'” O’Brien said. “I don’t know. It just escalated from there.”
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