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Since May 11, 2023, when Hilda Baci came into the spotlight by initiating her attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking hour, many Nigerian youths have embarked on the journey of striving to break several other records.
After 100 hours of a cooking marathon, Baci, 27, was awarded the Guinness World Record for marathon cooking – a record she recently relinquished to Alan Fisher. Amidst all the accolades the Lagos-based chef received, Baci led the way for other young Nigerians, a country with an ambitious youthful population, to strive to break records.
Although the foodpreneur and founder of ‘My Food by Hilda,’ is not the first Nigerian to hold a Guinness Record, her attempt ignited a new interest in the award.
Even before Baci was recognised and awarded, Damilola Adeparusi, a 300-level student in one of Nigeria’s State Universities, set out to break Hilda Baci’s record. Although Adeparusi’s pursuit ended without her ever being certified, Nigerians are not deterred, as many seek various ventures to break a record – with some aspirants endangering their lives in the pursuit.
In early July, Joyce Ijeoma, a masseur in Nigeria’s Lekki area of Lagos State, collapsed 50 hours into her record-breaking attempt. Although Ijeoma surpassed Alastair Galpin from Indonesia who currently holds the record after achieving 25 hours of marathon body massages of individuals, she’s yet to be certified. On November 28, another student, Subair Enitan, was reportedly taken to hospital after attempting to break a cloth washing record. Also, in early November, Lola Mewu, a Nigerian artist, claimed she was unresponsive for long stretch of hours, during her 82 hour marathon painting.
A Medical expert, who spoke to Netng, said that in attempting to break some records which require strenuous physical activity, aspirants need to “undergo clinical and laboratory evaluations.”
In the past, some have lost their lives in an attempt to have their name remembered as a world record breaker. Nicholas Mevoli was 32 years old when his attempt to break the record of 71 meters for the deepest dive without fins among American men cost him his life. In 2012, Janaka Basnayake of Sri Lanka was buried alive as the 24-year-old aspired to set a record of becoming the first to survive after being buried for hours. When he was exhumed six hours later, he was found unconscious and later pronounced dead.
“To certify a person fit for strenuous physical activity, some clinical and laboratory evaluations have to be done,” Dr Onyeoguzoro Alex Chiebuka, a General Medical Practitioner, told Netng.
Although the Guinness World Record is yet to respond to inquiries on whether applicants provide medical records before they are allowed to attempt to break or set a record, record policies on their official website said that they do not “monitor any records involving unsuitable activities or those which could cause potential harm or danger to spectators.”
But to the unprepared or people with underlying medical challenges, attempting to break some records could be fatal.
“For example, People with elevated blood pressure stand a risk of Cerebrovascular accidents (stroke) if exposed to strenuous physical activities,” Onyeoguzoro said. “So if one is hypertensive, he or she has to have it controlled before embarking on such a quest.”
While moderate and regular exercise is generally beneficial, excessive or overly strenuous activities without adequate recovery time, which is often the case during attempts to break world records, can lead to overexertion. Overexertion, the state of pushing the body beyond its physical limits or capacity as a result of intense physical activity or prolonged effort, may temporarily strain the heart, potentially leading to symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, or fatigue.
“Using some medical procedures such as Chest X-rays and electrocardiograms (ECGs), contestants need to undergo these screenings to determine chronic health conditions and underlying health conditions,” Onyeoguzoro said.
While Hilda Baci trained for several weeks, including taking gym classes to physically prepare for the task, as admitted by her personal trainer, Ekemini Ekerette, other Nigerian contestants appear to have been solely motivated by the chef’s example, without necessarily exposing themselves to the same level of strenuous activity, which Doctor Onyeoguzoro says is key to building their endurance and strength.
With a hyperactive young population, Nigerian youths are constantly defying odds posed by poverty and institutional barriers to make a name for themselves and their country. But with the new interest in attempting to break Guinness records, it is perhaps time for the government to put measures in place to ensure that contestants are physically and medically fit for such ventures.
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