Competitors came from five countries came for the latest edition of Impossibility-Challenger event, which was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1983 to help record breakers transcend their limits. The records included 11 World Record attempts, 10 of which were successful.
Here is a sample of some of the records:
Earlier editions of the event have been held in Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand.
World records were ripped, bent, torn and smashed in Auckland, New Zealand recently, with 7 world records broken in the Impossibility-Challenger world record games.
Held November 14 at Auckland’s Trusts Stadium, the first time the impossibility challenging festival has been staged in New Zealand, the event saw two World Records set by Swiss strongman and weightlifter Albert Walter, who first tore a 1440 page phone book in two and then snapped a 30cm long carpenter’s nail, with nothing more than bare hands and steely determination employed.
New Zealander Alistair Galpin, one of the top World Record breakers of the past decade, set nine new records on the day, including the most lit candles in the mouth, and the fastest time to shell a boiled egg. To celebrate, Galpin broke the record for the most high-fives in a minute.
Other impossible feats made possible included the fastest car tyre change by four employees of tire company Frank Allen Tyres, the world’s longest balloon chain, the largest dot to dot drawing, and the fastest mile pushing a person in a shopping trolley.
The 16th staging of the event, Impossibility-Challenger was founded in 1982 by accomplished weightlifter and peace-visionary Sri Chinmoy, upon the ideals of self-transcendence and challenging limits, and was staged by the Sri Chinmoy Centre, a prolific non-profit organisation also responsible for the World Harmony Run—the world’s largest participant torch relay—and The Oneness-Heart Tears and Smiles humanitarian aid programme.
On November 14th, Auckland, New Zealand, phone-books will be torn, carpenter’s nails broken, giant balloon hats made and shopping trolleys pushed in the name of challenging the impossible, and breaking world records along the way.
Jumped, thrown and run successfully in Zurich, Switzerland and Munich, Germany since the 1980s, the Impossibility-Challenger festival of record smashing is being staged in New Zealand for the first time, and Director Budhsamudra Knox is confident that success will not be impossible—“We think Kiwis have what it takes to step up to the mark.â€
Attempting to cross that mark, and in world record time, is an international field of participants including Alistair Galpin, the New Zealander with the most World Records, Albert Walter of Switzerland, a bench press champion who tears phone books better than anybody else, and a team of mechanics who will attempt the 4-man car wheel change world record.
The impossibility challenging event also encompasses the Self-Transcendence Games, where hundreds of school children will compete together with celebrities in just for fun events like hula-hoop racing and catching an egg thrown the greatest distance.
The Impossibility-Challenger games were founded in 1982 by the late peace visionary Sri Chinmoy, upon the premise that challenging limitations and the seemingly impossible not only brings the individual joy, but inspires others to transcend that which is challenging in their lives as well.
The event is organised by the Sri Chinmoy Centre, a prolific non-profit organisation also responsible for the world’s largest participant torch relay, the World Harmony Run, and The Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles humanitarian aid programme.
