Pitch's Sports Book Of The Week
Guinness Book Of Records; 365 Sport. A sports trivia fact for every day of the year
This year sees the 70th anniversary of the first publication of the Guinness Book of Records, introducing the world to some of the most weird and wonderful feats and statistics in history, including the world’s smallest pub and the longest beard. Across the last seven decades, the book has flourished and records have consistently been made and broken. For sports fans in particular, Guinness World Records cover a cornucopia of achievements and this spring saw the release of a new book that will delight sports enthusiasts and stats fans alike: Guinness World Records 365: Sport.
As the title suggests, the pocket-sized book packs in 365 sporting records – one for each day of the year. This month alone begins with the fastest time at the Wife-Carrying World Championship, set on 1 July 2006, and ends with the fastest average speed at a World Rally Championship event, set on 31 July 2016, while July also sees records for the youngest snooker player to make a 147 break and the lowest total score at The Open Championship.
From sumo wrestling to X Games, boomerang throwing to free diving, Neymar to Florence Griffith-Joyner, the oldest competitors to the youngest, the fastest to the most expensive, the book offers a fun and interesting find on every page. The accessible format means it’s easy dive in and out of or to read from cover to cover in good time, while it also makes for a good party trick with sporting mates, being able to roll off a wacky fact for someone’s birthday or a given date.
And let’s be honest while most of us are unlikely to be able to break the record for the most Winter Olympic medals or most tries by a player in a Six Nations game, there’ll be a few records in here that rightly or, more likely, wrongly we’ll fancy our chances at. So who knows, maybe this time next year there’ll be a new name in the Guinness World Records for the fastest mile balancing a football on the head (8 minutes 35 seconds if you’re wondering) or the farthest-thrown women’s flying disc (173.3m). Frisbees at the ready!