WILKES-BARRE, (PRNewswire) – One year after setting the world record for the most games of hopscotch completed in one hour, 18-year- old Wilkes-Barre, Pa. resident Joe Nguyen finally received notice from the Guinness Book of World Records that his feat was official.
Unfortunately, he also found out that someone had already broken his record, leaving him as the official record holder for just three-and-a-half
months.
Nguyen, 17-years-old at the time and a senior at Bishop Hoban High School, hopped into history on October 15, 2005 during an event in
Wilkes-Barre’s Kirby Park. The attempt was sponsored by Friendship All Natural Cottage Cheese as part of a campaign to promote healthy living and to fight childhood obesity.
The one-hour record had never before been attempted, and Nguyen’s eight completed games stood as the benchmark until January 19, 2006 when it was toppled by New York City resident Ashrita Furman. The 51-year-old Furman completed 28 games in the 60-minute span. Furman also holds the distinction of setting the most world records during his life with 118 to date, including 41 currently standing records, according his website, http://www.ashrita.com.
“Our goal with the initial hopscotch record attempt was to promote exercise and activity among children, and to that extent we were hugely successful, regardless of the fact that our sponsored event record was broken,” said Friendship President Joe Murgolo. “We’re hoping this will
inspire others to live a healthier lifestyle by taking part in activities that they may not have attempted in a while.”
The feat isn’t Friendship Dairies’ only brush with record-setting immortality. In 2000, the company entered the record books by creating the world’s largest bowl of dip, a sour cream and salsa flavored concoction weighing 2,000 pounds.
Despite his brief stint as the world’s top hopscotch player, Nguyen reflects on his accomplishment with no regret or ill will toward the man who claimed his title.
“It’s kind of cool that he went after my record and I’m happy for him. I’m just glad I can say I was once a Guinness world record holder – at least for a little while,” said Nguyen, who is currently studying to become an athletic therapist at Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Nguyen was asked to participate in the contest by a Friendship Cottage Cheese representative just moments after he and several members of his high school cross country team completed a practice in the park.
“After that day, I retired from hopscotch,” added Nguyen. “But who knows; maybe I’ll come back and try to set the record again!”