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BEIJING — Michael Phelps has become the winningest Olympic athlete ever, earning his fourth gold medal of the Beijing Games with a world record in the 200-meter butterfly. The American touched in 1 minute, 52.03 seconds, breaking his old mark of 1:52.09 set at last year's world championships in Australia.

Huge halibut hooked in Norway Last Updated: 8:50PM BST 28/05/2008   A halibut thought to be the largest ever line-caught fish has been hooked by an angler in Norway. BNPS  The 31st fish has smashed the line caught record by 24 lb The 31st creature - which measures 8ft1in long - was landed by proud fisherman Soren Bec following a titanic struggle. The monster catch is believed to have beaten the previous record for a line-caught fish by 24lbs. Although halibut of up to 2.5metres (8ft2in) have been spotted in Norweigian waters, it is unusual for the fish to...

A couple from White Bear Lake celebrate their 83rd wedding anniversary this Sunday. Now the Guinness Book of World Records is researching to see if Clarence and Mayme Vail qualify as the longest-married couple alive. "It's unbelievable," said Mayme. Clarence is 101-years-old, Mayme is 99. They were married in 1925 when Calvin Coolidge was President, but were sweethearts since they'd met in the 8th grade in Hugo, Minn. "He had gone through the 8th grade in the other school, then he comes to our school -- smart as a whip," said Mayme. The couple had 6 children, 39 grandchildren, and...

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A Port Charlotte man didn't let the big one get away. Bucky Dennis caught a 1,280-pound hammerhead shark Tuesday in Boca Grande Pass. Dennis was alone on his boat when the nearly 13 foot animal took the bait -- a 25-pound stingray. A friend on a nearby vessel climbed aboard Dennis' boat to help with the catch. Dennis said they finally got the shark on the boat after about five hours. Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

UDON THANI, Thailand (AP) - Skydivers from 31 countries have claimed a world record of 400 people holding hands in a mid-air free-fall formation. The record was certified by judges from the Switzerland-based Federation Aeronautique Internationale at the scene, announced the World Team '06, the informal association of international skydivers who made the attempt over an airfield in northeastern Thailand. "It was beautiful. It was one of my absolute favourite dives of my life," said World Team skydive director B.J. Worth. He said in order to set the record, "100 per cent of the people in the air have to...

KEARNS, Utah - Chad Hedrick set a world record in the 10,000 meters at the U.S. long track speedskating championships Saturday. He won the 25-lap race in 12 minutes, 55.11 seconds, bettering the old mark by nearly 3 seconds. Hedrick had predicted he would break the mark of 12:57.92 set by Dutchman Carl Verheijen at a World Cup meet earlier this month in the Netherlands. The 28-year-old Texan finished second to Verheijen in that race.

Indian millionaire Vijaypat Singhania today broke the world record for the highest flight in a hot air balloon, reaching the fringes of space, his son claimed. Singhania, 67, hit 21,000 metres a little more than two hours after taking off in his 40-tonne balloon, and has started his descent, his son Gautam said. "We have the world record at 69,000 feet" (21,000 metres), said Gautam Singhania. "We're bringing him down now." The previous world record was 19,811 metres, set by Sweden's Per Lindstrand in Plano, Texas, in June 1988. Singhania lifted off from downtown Bombay at 6.45am (1215 AEDT) enclosed...

When Jeff Severson of Rice Lake, Wisconsin traveled to Kansas last fall to bow hunt for deer, he had no idea he was going to take a world record white-tailed buck. Severson had been coming to Clay County for the past five years to bow hunt because it had become increasingly difficult to take a trophy buck in Wisconsin. The 19-point buck he took in Clay County last fall had main beams of 25 and 7/8 and 26 and 5/8 inches. The brow tines were 6 and 5/8 and 7 and 7/8 inches. Several of the other tines exceeded 12...

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) - More than 14,000 people in this infamously violent city on the U.S.-Mexico border embraced and held on tight Sunday for a 15-minute "Giant Hug," that attempted to set a new Guinness World Record. Mayor Hector Murguia led the gathering, which took place in the shadow of a Mexican flag close to a bridge leading over the border and into neighboring El Paso. The embrace began with the cry "Mexico, Mexico, Mexico" around midday.

MAFIKENG, South Africa (Reuters) - A South African became the world's fastest blind driver Thursday after driving across a remote airstrip at 269 kph (167 mph). Blind since birth, 33-year-old Hein Wagner of Cape Town had a sighted navigator for his record attempt. After crossing the airfield, he told reporters he wanted to do it again but was considering piloting an aircraft for his next record attempt. "I'm very happy," said Wagner, whose drive in a borrowed Maserati V8 GranSport was monitored by motoring organization Motorsport SA and filmed for the Guinness Book of World Records. The drive, on an...

A Dutch woman officially recognised as the world's oldest person has died at the age of 115.Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper died in her sleep at the care home where she lived, the director of the centre said. The former needlework teacher was born in 1890, and often said her long life was down to a daily dose of herring. Mrs van Andel's husband died of cancer in 1959, but she continued to live on her own until she moved into the retirement home at the age of 105. Commonly known as Hennie, she entered the Guinness Book of Records as the...

It seems like the worlds oldest person is always dying! That's a title I both long for and dread.

N.Y. Man in Record Book for Eyebrow Hair 1 hour, 27 minutes ago SARANAC, N.Y. - A 43-year-old North Country man has made the Guinness Book of World Records in a new entry for the longest eyebrow hair. Frank Ames of Saranac in Clinton County measured in at 3.078 inches, or about 7.8 centimeters. "I don't know why it grows like that; it just always has," Ames told the Press-Republican of Plattsburgh. Ames's journey toward notoriety began almost two years ago when a co-worker at Bombardier Corp. noticed the bushy brow and suggested he try for a record. Ames then...

The man, who is from the inner Mongolia region of China, is nearly 7 feet 9 inches tall. He has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest naturally growing person in the world. He said he was the same height as other children his age until he was 16. He then had a huge growth spurt. There are a lot of problems being as tall as he is, he said, including finding shoes and clothes that fit.

At 105, Herbert Brown is impeccably dressed in a crisp blue shirt that brings out the color of his eyes but belies the strain of time on his frail frame. Given his time spent in a Nazi concentration camp and his run-in with the notorious Adolf Eichmann, it's a wonder Brown has survived. But here he is, in the one-bedroom apartment he shares with his wife of 74 years, the former Magda Fritz, who is 100. Together, on July 15, their ages totaled 205 years and 293 days, making them — according to the Guinness Book of World Records —...

Man breaks 'pi' memory record A Japanese mental health counsellor broke the record for reciting pi from memory in a marathon session from Friday to early yesterday. Haraguchi, 59, recited pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, to 83,431 decimal places. Starting at 9am on Friday, Haraguchi, from Chiba, near Tokyo, lost his place around noon. He quickly restarted, completing his feat of recall in the early hours of Saturday. Haraguchi hopes to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, replacing the current record-holder, also Japanese, who recited pi to 42,195 decimal places...

World's oldest married man dies The world's oldest married man has died at the age of 105. Percy Arrowsmith and his wife Florence, 100, made it into the Guinness Book of Records after celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary on 1 June. The couple, from Hereford, also held the record for being the oldest married couple in the world. Mr Arrowsmith died peacefully at his home on Wednesday morning. The Bishop of Hereford expressed his sorrow at the news and paid tribute to Mr Arrowsmith. 'In love' The Rt Revd Anthony Priddis, who visited the couple on their anniversary, said:...

Brazilian, 125, May Be the Oldest Woman Thu Mar 3,10:25 PM ET Strange News - AP By STAN LEHMAN, Associated Press Writer SAO PAULO, Brazil - An elderly woman living in a small, wooden shack in rural southern Brazil could be the world's oldest living woman, according to a Brazilian record-keeping organization. Maria Olivia da Silva, who recently celebrated her 125th birthday, "is definitely the oldest living woman in Brazil and possibly in the entire world," said Iolete Cadari, administrative director of RankBrasil, this country's equivalent to the Guinness World Records. Da Silva's birth certificate shows that she was born...

Last Updated: Thursday, 16 December, 2004, 14:59 GMT Fast lifts rise into record books Reach for the skies: The Taiwan 101 tower Two high-speed lifts at the world's tallest building have been officially recognised as the planet's fastest. The lifts take only 30 seconds to whisk passengers to the top of the 508m tall TFC 101 Tower in Taipei, Taiwan. The Guinness Book of Records has declared the 17m per second speed of the two lifts the swiftest on Earth. The lifts also have a pressure control system to stop passengers' ears popping as they ascend and descend at high...

DANE — A Wisconsin registered Holstein has set a world record for milk production, with 76,064 pounds of milk on 365 days. Hartje-Meyer Beacon 9792 recently completed her record at five years and 10 months on twice-a-day milking at Sweet Water Dairy, owned by Ed Niesen and Steve Schmitt, near Dane. Meyer was check-tested by the Wisconsin Dairy Herd Improvement Association. “We could see it coming about four months ago,” Mr. Schmitt said. “She’s still giving 200 pounds (a day).” Meyer freshened on Sept. 25, 2003. At 430 days in milk, Meyer has produced 90,000 pounds of milk, he said,...

FRANKFURT, Germany - A 38-year-old with degrees in psychology, education and computer science needed only 11.8 seconds to calculate the 13th root of a 100-digit number in his head, setting a new record, organizers said. Onlookers with electronic calculators needed more time to solve the problem that Gert Mittring figured on his own, with two umpires checking the time, at a math museum in the small German town of Giessen near Frankfurt in western Germany. "I first think of an elegant problem-solving algorithm and the result comes immediately," said Mittring, who beat the previous record of 13.55 seconds, set by...

AP - Fred Hale Sr, an American documented as the world’s oldest man, has died in New York State. He was 113 years old and had lived up to name. At age 95 Hale even gave boogie-boarding a try, while flying home from Japan where he had visited a grandson who was in the Navy. At 103, Hale was still living on his own and shovelling the snow off his rooftop. Hale died in his sleep at The Nottingham in suburban Syracuse, while trying to recover from a bout of pneumonia, said his grandson, Fred Hale III. He was 12...

Athens, Greece (Sports Network) - Hossein Reza Zadeh of Iran repeated as the gold medal winner in the men's super heavyweight division Wednesday night. It was the final evening of weightlifting competition at the Athens Games. Reza Zadeh came into the competition already recognized as the world's strongest man after capturing the gold medal in the 2000 Olympics. He set a world record in those Games with a lifted weight of 472.5kg, but matched that total Wednesday night. "If I am healthy, I will go onto lift 500kg," proclaimed Reza Zadeh following his gold medal performance in which he set...

Shillong Christian Shoemaker’s Feat Enters The Guinness By SAR NEWS Shillong, MEGHALAYA (SAR NEWS)-- James Syiemiong is on cloud nine. On September 11, this Shillong-based professional shoemaker walked into the Guinness Book of World Records for making the highest heeled shoe that is also commercially available. “As of February 2004, the highest heels commercially available boast a combination of 17 inches (43 cm) platform and 20 inches (51 cm) produced by James Syiemiong (India) for boldnbootiful.com,” said the certificate from the London-based Guinness World Records Limited, which reached Syiemiong, September 9. Syiemiong, a “practising Christian”, told SAR News, September 12:...

HAMPTON, Tennessee (AP) -- A Tennessee man has beaten his own record for staying underwater with scuba gear after five days in a lake -- complete with recliner, a checkerboard, music and good friends to keep him company. After emerging from the lake Friday, Jerry Hall cheerfully signed a pledge to his wife never to do it again. "I had the easy job," Hall said. "It was my dive team that did all the work. I kept them hopping all the time, and they never once complained. Whatever I wanted or needed, they were there for me." Hall, 39, of...

HANOI, Vietnam - A Vietnamese man who hasn't been to a barber in 31 years is vying to get in the Guinness World Records for having the longest hair, state-controlled media reported Monday. Tran Van Hay's hair is 20 feet long, Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper said. Normally tied up and covered by a scarf, his hair has grown four feet in the past seven years. He last had it washed six years ago, the paper said. Hay, 67, is a traditional medicine practitioner from southern Kien Giang province, some 220 miles southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. He provides...

Norris McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records, has died aged 78, his family announced on Tuesday. McWhirter suffered a heart attack while playing tennis at his Wiltshire home on Monday evening, his family said. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a fixture of the BBC One children's show Record Breakers, hosted by the late Roy Castle. McWhirter, whose identical twin brother Ross was murdered by the IRA in 1975, had also been a successful athlete and worked as a BBC sports journalist. Like his brother, he also held strong political views. McWhirter's family said in a statement:...

A Slovenian man hopes to set a new long distance world record by swimming the whole length of the Mississippi River in 66 days. Martin Strel Martin Strel will plunge into America's second largest river on 4 July hoping to swim an average of 58 kilometres a day to cover 3,797 kilometres (2,360 miles) "I think my biggest problem will be strong winds and tides, but also alligators - and we are not talking small ones here - poisonous snakes and white sharks," he said. "And don't forget it is a busy river - cargo ships sometimes reach up to...