Nigerian Man Commences 150-Hour Ironing Marathon To Break Guinness Record

A Nigerian Man from Ebonyi State, Celestine Onele, has commenced a 150-hour marathon ironing since Monday, April 22, 2024, in his quest to break the Guinness World Record.

Celestine Onele, an electrical engineer from Ezza South Local Government Area of the state began his his attempt on Monday, April 22, 2024, at Real Exclusive Garden in Abakaliki.

Onele, who is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, told journalists that he had obtained official approval from Guinness World Records, along with a series of rigorous guidelines to follow for his record-breaking endeavor.

Onele stated that the existing record, set by Garric Standard of the United Kingdom in 2015, stands at 100 hours, surpassing the previous benchmark of 80 hours set by Huston from Australia in 2012.

Driven to push the record to 150 hours, Onele is leveraging his childhood love for ironing to leave his mark on the world stage.

He said, “Before Garric Standard from the UK, the current record holder, was Huston from Australia. She broke the record in 2012 with 80 hours before Garric did in 2015 for 100 hours. After Garric Standard did, Guinness gave 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.”

He outlined the demanding procedure required to obtain approval for his Guinness World Records attempt, highlighting that it took 18 weeks from the application submission to gain official sanction.

“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,” he added.

One of the stringent rules is that he has only 30 seconds to pick up another piece of clothing to iron once he finishes with one and a mere 5-minute rest break after every hour of ironing.

The local community has shown enthusiastic support for Onele’s attempt, with residents of Abakaliki bringing their clothes to the event center for ironing.

He said, “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.”