A Nigerian man hailing from Ebonyi state, Celestine Onele, has embarked on a marathon ironing session lasting 150 hours in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record.
Celestine, an electrical engineer from Ezza South Local Government Area of the state, initiated the challenge on Monday, April 22, 2024, at Real Exclusive Garden in Abakaliki.
Following in the footsteps of other Nigerian record breakers such as Tunde Onakoya and Hilda Baci, Celestine aims to surpass the current record set by Garric Standard of the United Kingdom in 2015, which stands at 100 hours. This achievement would exceed the previous benchmark of 80 hours set by Huston from Australia in 2012.
Onele, currently enrolled in a Master’s program at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, informed reporters that he has obtained official approval from Guinness World Records, along with stringent guidelines for his record-breaking attempt.
Onele, who aims to extend the record to 150 hours, expressed his intention to utilize his childhood passion for ironing as a means to make his mark on the global stage.
Onele, currently pursuing a Master’s program at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, informed reporters that he received official approval from Guinness World Records, along with strict guidelines for his record-breaking attempt.
According to Onele, who will be driving to push the record to 150 hours, he will be using his childhood love for ironing to leave his mark on the world stage.
He said, “Before Garric Standard from UK, the current record holder was Huston from Australia. So, she broke the record in 2012 with 80 hours before Garric did in 2015 for 100 hours.”
“After Garric Standard did, Guinness has given approval for some individuals who have attempted the record but didn’t get the acknowledgement based on the fact that there were so many rules they tampered with.”
“Currently, I am on the verge of attempting the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon ironing in the world. If I surpass the current holder of the record, I will be the new holder for the longest marathon ironing by an individual in the world. I am an engineer but I love being inspired to do different things to put my name on the map.”
“On July 7 last year, I submitted my application to Guinness World after a rigorous research which we all know that after submitting application, it takes a whole lot of inspection from different expertise and by the Grace of God, after 18 weeks of waiting, I got a mail that my application to attempt a Guinness World Record has been approved.”
“After three weeks, a specific guideline was approved for me and it’s a guideline that I have to follow to break the record. There are so many rules in the guideline which if you tamper with, you will not be recognised.”
“One of the rules says I have 30 seconds to pick materials. So, whenever I finish ironing a material, I have 30 seconds to pick up another material and iron. And for the rest break, I have just 5 minutes to rest after one hour.”
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