On December 29, 2003, on lane one of the Lebanon Bowling Center in Lebanon, Indiana, Gene Wethington set a new world record for the sport of bowling. But it's not the type of record you might expect.
Ryo Nishimura, a JPBA bowler from Japan, is the
first bowler ever to bowl a 900 series outside the United States. Not even an American PBA bowler has done that. The PBA tour's high three-game series is held by Jason Hurd, who bowled an 889 series in the 1999 Tournament of Champions in Overland Park, Kansas.
And if you think that 900 series is something, you won't believe this! Robert Mushtare, a 17-year-old from Carthage, New York, is not only the youngest bowler to have bowled a 900 series (that's three perfect 300 games, or 36 consecutive strikes) approved by the
United States Bowling Congress, but he is the
first bowler (period) ever to bowl two 900 series approved by the USBC. Local cable news channel
News 10 Now even did a story on this event.
You think that's incredible? Well check this out! Brandie Reamy from Livonia, Michigan, is the
youngest female bowler to bowl a perfect 300 game approved by the USBC. How old is she, you ask? She's not even in her 20's. She's not 17, not 16, not 15, not even 13, but 12 years old. That may not sound like much when you consider that the previous holder of this record, Nicole Long, was only a month older. But that record was set 11 years before Brandie Reamy set her new record. So anyone that young bowling a perfect game is outstanding.
Most of those are only within the United States, but Wethington's world record is nothing like that at all. In fact, it's probably far beyond what you would expect or even believe. Are you ready for this one? Wethington's record is for--oh yeah, I forgot to say that it has nothing to do with scoring. Okay, now that I've pointed that out, let's move right along. Wethington's record is for--the longest amount of time of continuous bowling. (Fooled you there for a second, didn't I?)
So how long was it? It wasn't 12 hours. It was greater than that. It wasn't even 24 hours, and it wasn't even 48 hours. it was 54 hours and 4 minutes of non-stop bowling.
Of course, he was allowed a 15 minute break every eight hours, according to Guinness rules. During that time, he used the restroom, relaxed for a rubdown, had his fingers retaped, and had his blood pressure checked, since he had high blood pressure. At the point where the previous record was broken, which was 52 hours and 16 minutes, Gene had logged 270 games and knocked down a total of 31,789 pins. His highest game was 225. This came early on, but the Channel Surfers Bowling article I found doesn't say how early. His lowest game was 48, which was when the right-hander bowled left-handed. According to the Bowling Digest article I found (and you will find links to each article towards the end of this entry, by the way), once Gene was completely finished, he had logged 280 games. His high game was 235, and his low game was still 48.
After a while, his fingers became too swollen for his own 15-pound ball. So supporters donated lighter balls and had them drilled with wider holes so he could keep going. He suffered little pain in his arms and shoulders, but his biggest complaint was his right middle finger. But according to Wethington, the mental aspect of it all was tougher than the physical.
Gosh, it can be pretty bizarre what some people will do to get their name in the record books. 54 hours of non-stop bowling (non-stop except for 15-minute breaks and perhaps brief pauses for a drink or whatever), without even sleeping. He did eat fruit and drank Gatorade, but when? I guess on his 15-minute breaks. Can you imagine that? And don't try this at home (or at the bowling alley, or whatever). This guy was fully prepared. He had Ben Gay patches, a tub of mineral ice, and other pain relievers on hand if needed. And since he had high blood pressure, he had his blood pressure checked periodically during the event. I've seen records on TV for the world's fastest parallel park (a very dangerous stunt) and the world's loudest burp. I bet there's plenty of records in the flatulance category (you know, farts). And if smells can be measured. then I have no doubt that there's a record for the world's most fragrant fart. (Wait a minute, did I use the wrong word there? Oh well.)
But I do have to hand it to Wethington. That's quite a challenge to undertake. The most games I've bowled in a single session is eight. And after bowling constantly for several minutes, I start sweating, and then eventually I have to sit down and take a break for a minute or two. And one time I bowled seven games, and when I told my mom's boyfriend about it, he was like, "Seven games?! You're kidding! I like to bowl now and then, but there's no way you'll be able to get me to bowl seven games!" Wethington already bowls seven nights a week, so that must be why he was able to endure this challenge.
But Wethington didn't do this just to get his name in the record books. He sought sponsors for the event, and raised around $3,000 for Boone County Special Olympics and the bowling center's junior bowlers league.
Read the news article about Gene Wethington's bowling record on Channel Surfers Bowling.
Read the Bowling Digest article about Gene Wethington's bowling record on findarticles.com.
Did you know? December 29th is Bowling Day, a day created to celebrate the great game of bowling. It was just as new to me as it is to many of you. So how did I find about it, and how did it originate? Before I get into that, I'm sorry for the lack
Tracked: Dec 07, 22:24