Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous United States editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, is a British reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The brainchild of Sir Hugh Beaver, the book was co-founded by twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter in Fleet Street, London, in August 1955.
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them was first done on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Once considered a mountaineering challenge, in January 2023, Climbing said "Today, the Seven Summits are a relatively common—almost cliché—tour of each continent's highest peak", and that the real challenge was the Explorer's Grand Slam, the Seven Summits with the North and South poles.
Land's End to John o' Groats is the traversal of the length of the island of Great Britain between two extremities, in the southwest and northeast. The traditional distance by road is 874 miles (1,407 km) and takes most cyclists 10 to 14 days; the record for running the route is nine days. Off-road walkers typically walk about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) and take two or three months for the expedition. Signposts indicate the traditional distance at each end.
Ocean rowing is the sport of rowing across oceans. Some ocean rowing boats can hold as many as fourteen rowers; however, the most common ocean rowboats are designed for singles, doubles, and fours.
The Subway Challenge entails navigating the entire New York City Subway system in the shortest time possible. This ride is also known as the Rapid Transit Challenge and the Ultimate Ride. The challenge requires competitors to stop at all 472 stations; as of 2023, this record is held by Kate Jones of Switzerland. One competitor held the record for 469 stations, as he had competed before the January 2017 opening of the Second Avenue Subway. Three teams held the Guinness record for 468 stations, as they had competed prior to both the September 2015 opening of the 7 Subway Extension and the January 2017 opening of the Second Avenue Subway, but after Dean Street station was closed in 1995. Records set before 1995 had a varying number of stations.
Leslie Porterfield was named as the 2008 American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Racing Female Rider of the Year, holds three land-speed records and is a member of the Bonneville 200 mph club. She is the former co-owner of High Five Cycles with Ronnie Trent, a used motorcycle dealership in north Dallas. She has been riding and racing motorcycles since her mid-teens. She was born on April 16, 1976.
Graham David Hughes was the first person, according to Guinness World Records, to visit all 193 United Nations member states and several other territories across the world without flying. While on his journey he presented the television programme Graham's World on the National Geographic Adventure channel.
The Guinness World Record (GWR) for fastest circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle is awarded for completing a continuous journey around the globe by bicycle and other means, consisting of a minimum 29,000 km in total distance cycled.
Lydia Ko is a New Zealand professional golfer. She first reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings on 2 February 2015 at 17 years, 9 months and 9 days of age, making her the youngest player of either male or female to be ranked No. 1 in professional golf.
The Travelers' Century Club, or TCC, is a club for people who have visited 100 or more of the world's countries and territories.
Cassandra De Pecol is an American author, traveler, activist, and speaker. In 2017, she set Guinness World Records in two categories: "Fastest time to visit all sovereign countries" and "Fastest time to visit all sovereign countries—Female". Both records were broken in 2019.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner. Ingebrigtsen is the current world record holder for the indoor 1500 metres and the 2000 metres, and holds the world best time over the two mile distance. Ingebrigtsen is a two-time World champion, winning gold medals in the 5000 metres in 2022 and 2023 and a four-time European champion, winning gold medals in the 1500 m and 5000 m in 2018 and 2022. He also won a gold medal in the 1500 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting an Olympic and European record. In addition to the 1500 m, Ingebrigtsen holds European records in the mile and 5000 m, and is one of only three men to run a sub-3:30 1500 m, sub-7:30 3000 m and a sub-12:50 5000 m.
Letesenbet Gidey is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who holds two world records and one world best. In the 10,000 metres, she is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, 2019 World silver medallist, and 2022 World champion.
Athing Mu is an American middle-distance runner. She is the youngest woman in history to hold Olympic and world titles in an individual track and field event. At the age of 19, Mu won the gold medal in the 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, breaking a national record set by Ajeé Wilson in 2017, and a continental under-20 record. She took a second gold as part of the women's 4 × 400 m relay. She was the 800 m 2022 World champion, becoming the first American woman to win the world championship title over the distance.
Drew Goldberg, otherwise known by his online alias, Drew Binsky, is an American travel blogger and vlogger who has visited every country in the world. Binsky documents his travels on his YouTube channel and other social media accounts. He holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to pack a suitcase. Until 2021, he also held the record for the Most (12) UNESCO World Heritage Site visits in 24 hours, a record now set at 23.
Alexis Rose Alford, also known as Lexie Limitless, is an American adventure traveller who is notable for traveling to 196 countries before reaching the age of twenty-one. Alford was awarded two Guinness World Records; being the "Youngest person to travel to all sovereign countries" and being the "Youngest female to travel to all sovereign countries" at the age of 21 years, 177 days.
Zara Rutherford is a Belgian-British aviator. At age 19, she became the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world and the first person to complete a circumnavigation in a microlight aircraft after a five-month journey which began in Kortrijk, Belgium, on 18 August 2021, and ended on 20 January 2022.
Kate Jones is a comedian, writer, wedding officiant, performer, and a Guinness World Record holder for the Subway Challenge – the fastest trip through the New York City Subway – as of May 2023. She also shares the Guinness World Record for fastest time completing all NYC ferry stops with Rob Neill and Jesse Braver. She is a founding member of the London Neo-futurist group Degenerate Fox with Desiree Burch and the voice of Michelle Nguyen on the podcast Welcome to Night Vale.
