In Pics: Top 10 Guinness World Records Broken In 2024

Tallest Dog (Male)

Kevin, a gentle three-year-old Great Dane from Iowa, USA, was recognised as the world's tallest male dog, standing at an impressive 0.97 m (3 ft 2 in) tall in June 2024.

Sadly, Kevin's life was cut short just days after receiving this accolade. He passed away during surgery after falling ill. He had taken the record over from the Great Dane Zeus. He was 3 ft 5.18 in (1.046 m) tall.

Photo Credit: Guinness World Records

Longest Plank (Female)

DonnaJean Wilde, a 58-year-old retired high school vice principal from Canada, achieved an incredible feat by holding an abdominal plank position for 4 hours and 30 minutes in March 2024.

This remarkable record breaks the previous one by over 10 minutes which was set by fellow Canadian Dana Glowacka in 2019.

Photo Credit: Guinness World Records

Longest Hair On Teenage Boy

Reuben Looks Twice Jr., a 16-year-old Native American from Rapid City, South Dakota, had been officially recognised as having the longest hair on a male teenager in June 2024, measuring an astonishing 161 cm (5 ft 3.3 in).

His untrimmed locks surpassed the previous record holder, Sidakdeep Singh Chahal from India, whose hair measured 146 cm (4 ft 9.5 in) last year.

Photo Credit: Guinness World Records

Fastest Journey From Cape Town To Cairo On Foot (male)

In an incredible feat of endurance, 57-year-old Keith Boyd has become the fastest person to run the length of Africa, covering the 8,000-mile journey from Cape Town to Cairo in a record-breaking 301 days.

Boyd's remarkable achievement shatters the previous 25-year-old record by an impressive 17 days.

Photo Credit: Guinness World Records

Most European Men's Football Titles

The European championships in Germany witnessed a plethora of record-breaking moments, redefining the benchmarks in men's football.

Spain emerged as the most successful team in the men's Euro tournament, clinching their fourth title. Meanwhile, 16-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal made history by becoming the youngest player and goal scorer in the tournament.

At the opposite end of the age spectrum, several veterans etched their names into the record books. Portugal's Pepe became the oldest player in tournament history at 41 years and 130 days, while Croatia's Luka Modric registered as the oldest goal scorer at 38 years and 289 days. Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal participated in his sixth Euros, setting a new record for the most appearances in the tournament.

Additionally, Albania's Nedim Bajrami achieved the fastest goal in the tournament, scoring a mere 23 seconds into his team's match against Italy.

Photo Credit: Guinness World Records

Most Tour De France Stage Wins

British cycling sensation Mark Cavendish has shattered a 47-year-old record at the Tour de France, securing his 35th career stage win in July 2024. This impressive achievement surpasses the previous record of 34 stage wins, held by Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx since 1975.

Photo Credit: Mark Cavendish Instagram handle (markcavendish)

Largest Genome

The title of the largest known genome belongs to the Tmesipteris oblanceolata fork fern, boasting an astonishing 160.45 billion base pairs of DNA. This surpasses the previous record holder, Paris japonica, a Japanese woodland plant with a genome of approximately 149 billion base pairs.

Photo Credit: Yale.edu

Fastest Marathon (Female)

Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya shattered the women's marathon world record with a blistering time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 56 seconds at the 2024 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 13, 2024. Chepngetich made history as the first female athlete to complete the 26.2-mile distance in under 2 hours and 10 minutes. Her remarkable performance sliced nearly two minutes off the previous world record, smashing the previous record of 2:11:53 held by Ethiopian Tigst Assefa.

Photo Credit: Ruth Chepngetich's Instagram handle (ruthchepngetich94)

Tallest Matchstick Sculpture

French artist Richard Plaud has set a new record for the tallest matchstick sculpture, standing at 7.18 meters (23 ft 6 in) in Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France on 7th January 2024. Created over several years, this intricate masterpiece showcases the Eiffel Tower using over 700,000 matchsticks.

Photo Credit: Guinness World Records

World's Longest Baguette

The Municipality of Suresnes, in collaboration with Confédération National de la Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Française and Nutella, set a new world record for the longest baguette at 140.53 meters on May 5, 2024. A team of 12 French bakers from Suresnes successfully baked a record-breaking 140.53-meter baguette, reclaiming the title for France after an Italian team's achievement in 2019.

Photo Credit: Guinness World Records