GLOBAL SPORTS ICONS USAIN BOLT, CRISTIANO RONALDO, ROGER FEDERER, FLOYD MAYWEATHER ALL RECOGNISED IN NEW EDITION OF BOOKBRIAN O’DRISCOLL, RORY McILROY, LEWIS HAMILTON, RONNIE O’SULLIVAN, TONY McCOY & ELLIE SIMMONDS FLY THE FLAG FOR UK & IRELANDOTHER AMAZING SPORT RECORDS INCLUDE: LONGEST FOOTBALL GOAL SCORED, OLDEST GOLFER TO SCORE A HOLE-IN-ONE, SHORTEST BOXING WORLD TITLE FIGHT, HIGHEST-ALTITUDE GAME OF CRICKET AND MUCH MORE!
Thursday 4 September 2014 (London, UK) – The team sheets are in and Guinness World Records, the global authority in record breaking achievement, can announce its star studded line up of diverse sporting talent that have made it into the 60th anniversary edition of the record breaking book which is available in stores on September 11.
As ever, an impressive array of talent and wide scope of sport disciplines can be found across the sporting pages of the Guinness World Records 2015 Book ranging from the fastest man on the planet in Usain Bolt to the more obscure records that, to some, are less well known.
Brian O’Driscoll (pictured) cemented his place in rugby folklore after securing the record for the Most international appearances in Rugby Union. O’Driscoll amassed 141 caps in total, 133 of which for his country and made eight appearances for the British and Irish Lions on their 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013 respective tours. He broke the previous record held by former Australian player George Gregan (139 caps). The former Irish centre was presented with his Guinness World Records certificate in an intimate setting and, speaking about his award, he said: “I am delighted to have made it into this year’s Guinness World Records Book. It is a childhood dream achieved!“
O’Driscoll is joined by a number of global sports icons in the latest Guinness World Records 2015 Edition; Roger Federer is now the Most powerful sports star in the worldranked No.8 on Forbes’ listtaking the mantle formNFL quarterback Peyton Manning. The Swiss tennis staris also recognised for his day job in tennis with records for the Most Grand Slam singles titles (17), Most Grand Slam matches won (265) and Most week’s ranked world No.1 (302).
In football, Cristiano Ronaldo has got one over on his nearest and long standing competitor Lionel Messi by taking his mantle for the Most Champions League goals in a calendar year.The Portuguese international scored 15 goals between 13 February and 10 December 2013. Off the field, Ronaldo has also secured the record for the Most Twitter followers for an athlete which is in excess of 25 million! Katy Perry, however, is the Most followed person on Twitter with over 50 million. Ding ding! Unbeaten boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr, and his fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September 2013, raked in a staggering $150,000,000 (£91,812,400) making it the Highest selling pay-per-view boxing match of all time.
Britain and Ireland can be proud of their sports stars; in form Rory Mcilroy, has the record for the Lowest total score (72 holes) at the US Open with a scorecard boasting 268 (65-66-68-69) and, in the process, simultaneously broke the record for the Lowest score to par in a US Open, shooting 16-under. Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, who made his racing debut on 10th June 2007 has the record for the Most consecutive seasons to win a Formula One Grand Prix from debut (eight).
Leading Horse racing Jockey Tony McCoy heads the front of the pack in his sport with Most horse racing wins in jump racing in a season (289 in 2001-2002) and Most horse racing wins in jump racing in a career (4,106 and between 26 March 1992 and 26 April 2014).
Paralympic athlete and UK favourite Ellie Simmonds, who was honoured by Guinness World Records with a certificate presentation, was recognised for her Fastest swim 400m freestyle – S6 (female) in a time of5 min 19.17 sec at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.Speaking on her record, Simmonds said:“What an absolute honour it is to be included in the Guinness World Records 2015 book. Ever since being bought one of the books as a child, I’ve absolutely adored the series, and have always looked forward to the next edition, so it’s wonderful – if not a little surreal – to be included myself this time around!”
The Guinness World Records 2015 Book also recognises some of the more unique achievements that have occurred in the world of sport. Asmir Begovic of Stoke (pictured), normally praised for his goalkeeping, turned goalscorer briefly by scoringthe Longest goal scored in footballfrom a distance of 91.9m (301 ft 6 inches) in a Premier League match against Southampton in the 2013/14 season.
Speaking about his long range scoring record, he said: “I feel amazing to be honoured in this way and as a goalkeeper I didn’t expect this to happen, not for this type of record anyway – I will take it though and enjoy it. I really do appreciate this award, and the certificate will certainly take pride of place on the wall at home. So thank you to everyone at Guinness World Records for presenting me with this wonderful award.”
Other unique sporting records in the Guinness World Records 2015 Book include:
- Most red cards in a football match – 36! All players and substitutes ofAtlético Claypole and Victoriano in Argentina
- Oldest hole-in-one golfer – Switzerland’s Otto Bucher aged 99 years 244 days When he sank a 119-m tee shot in 1985
- Highest-altitude game of cricket ‘Everest Test Match’ played at 5,164m (16,942 ft) at the Gorak Shep plateau in Nepal
- Shortest boxing world title fight – 17 seconds when Daniel Jimenez floored opponent Harold Geier in 1994
- Longest basketball shot – 33.45m achieved Corey “Thunder Law” of the Harlem Globetrotters
Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief, Craig Glenday, said: “The sports superlatives are, quite literally, the fastest moving categories at Guinness World Records, and as our new and updated records prove, no elite sport is safe from competitors constantly pushing at the boundaries. This year’s anniversary edition has also given us the chance to reflect on how much has changed in 60 years, and nowhere have these changes been as dramatic as they have in sports.”
Guinness World Records 2015 is the 60th anniversary edition of the world’s best-selling copyright book. It’s packed full of incredible feats, facts and achievements and also features new Augmented Reality technology that enables the reader to bring record-breakers to life in stunning 3D. The book is in stores 11th September with a RRP of £20.
Photo credit: Guinness World Records
