An Australian man, Jaxon Italiano, broke the Guinness World Record by performing 8,008 pull-ups in 24 hours, in an effort to support a charity that works for 400,000 people living with dementia.
Italiano said on his fundraising page, “I am aiming to raise $1 for every pull-up I manage to do. But I need your help. Please make a donation to support my efforts and help me reach my goal to beat dementia. All funds raised will support the work of Dementia Australia to provide vital support services for people living with dementia, their families and carers,” adding that these services include counselling, support groups, education, and training.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year. Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not an inevitable consequence of ageing. People with dementia have a loss of cognitive functioning–thinking, remembering and reasoning–to such an extent that it negatively impacts their daily lives.
Italiano trained for eight months before he attempted the challenge in Sydney, New South Wales. “I had to, unfortunately, leave the last 3.5 hours unused as I had completely exhausted myself,” he said in an Instagram post.
Look at his post below:
He told the records website that “It was a good idea to partner this record attempt with a charity addressing dementia, as this is an illness I have had to work with first-hand when I used to work in a nursing home, and it is something that needs more awareness due to its increasing prevalence.”
“I decided to break the world record for most pull-ups in 24 hours because pull-ups are something I am good at and I believe that if you are good at something, then you should take it as far as you can,” he said.
As per the Guinness World Records website, Italiano had to overcome mental stress, physical harm and rhabdomyolysis — a serious medical condition in which damaged muscle tissue leaks its proteins and electrolytes into blood, which can be fatal or result in permanent disability to create this record, making his feat even more impressive.
