Pretoria man skips his way into Guinness World Record books

SD Heijns skipping his way to a world record at Sun International’s Maslow Time Square Hotel. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)

SD Heijns skipping his way to a world record at Sun International’s Maslow Time Square Hotel. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)

Published May 9, 2022

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Pretoria - After eight gruelling hours of rope skipping, a Pretoria man, SD Heijns believes that he broke the Guinness World Record at Time Square, Menlyn.

Heijns, 21, did not miss a beat until he eventually completed 71 185 skips.

The previous world record was 70 031 skips in eight hours – thus Heijns beat the record by 1 155 skips.

While it was plain sailing physically for this very fit man, it did take its emotional toll. Heijns said he started off too fast, but later found his pace and slowed down a bit, which proved to be the winning recipe.

To have broken the record, Heijns only had to successfully complete 70 031 skips – a record currently held by the US.

But he went beyond that and is very proud of his achievement.

The fact that it is indeed a Guinness World Record will first have to be verified by the body, but Heijns is confident that it was a clean sweep.

The record attempt will now be registered with Guinness World Record, along with precise electronic data which captured each and every skip.

The Sports Science Lab monitored and verified each skip.

This is only the first of three stints, as Heijns will in six weeks’ time attempt a 12-hour skipping session. His last stint will be six weeks later, when he will attempt to skip for a full 24 hours.

It is not yet known where these attempts will take place.

Asked why he is attempting this, Heijns replied: “To bring the record to South Africa, to test the limits of the human body, and to demonstrate the fitness potential of training with minimal equipment.”

Skipping formed an integral part of his personal training regime to stay fit during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Pretoria News

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Guinness World Record