Two Emiratis Claim GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Titles In July

Guinness World Records (GWR), the global authority on record breaking achievements, can today announce that the player of the UAE National Football Team, Areej Al Hammadi breaks the Guinness World Records title for Most football ‘hotstepper’ ball control tricks in one minute completing86 repetitions in total, breaking the previous record stood at 56 in the UK. Moreover, Walid Yari is another Emirati who smashed the record title of Most side jump push-ups in 1 minute competing 33 flying pushups in a single minute, a big jump on the previous record stood at 26 in India.

The two Emiratis achievements were announced at the launch of Guinness World Records Day 2020 (GWR Day) – themed Discover Your World –which is encouraging people to take on a new challenge now lockdown measures are easing, or simply turn a new found skill or talent into a world-record attempt.

Known as ‘The Beast of the Middle East’, Walid is a 34-year old fitness professional and social media content creator.  He is taking the region by storm with a growing fan base of more than 650k+ followers on Instagram. From the different types of workouts, he posts on social media, describe him as ‘The Beast’ because, according to him, there was no one else in the Middle East doing his style of freestyle and aggressive workouts.

“I encourage people to swap their burgers for burpees and get into shape with unique training routines that resemble something that can be visualised in a film,” said Yari. “I have been training almost all my life, and I was ready the minute I knew about Guinness World Records Day. So, I set up my cameras the next exact day, and filmed the entire scene to smash the previous record title,” said Walid.

Areej has paved her way to the top of women football in the MENA region. She is a Creative Services professional by day, and a footballer by night. She lived most of her life chasing opportunities in football, forming football teams both in school and during higher studies in the American University in Dubai, and attending many of the women’s football championships within the MENA region. She finally made it to the UAE National Football Team.

“I am incredibly proud to be Guinness World Records title holder and excited to help celebrate the launch of Guinness World Records Day this year. It is proud moment for me, for my country, and for women around the world. Why football? because it is my passion,” said Al Hammadi.

The announcement of these two records marks the launch of this year’s Guinness World Records Day; the annual celebration of record breaking that takes place in November each year. This year GWR Day will celebrate the Discover Your World theme of the latest Guinness World Records book. Whether people want to push themselves to the limit or have simply discovered a new passion or talent during lockdown, people are encouraged to see if they can turn it into a record. For record applications or further information at www.guinnessworldrecords.com/gwrday.

Guinness World Records Day 2020 will take place globally on the 18 November. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS  2021 is available for purchase in stores and online from 17 September 2020, with discounts widely available.