Britain's Guinea Pigs Have Serious G-FORCE!
Like 2 Dislike 0 Published on 31 Jul 2009
Youve heard of the Guinness World Records, but this week a new breed of record breakers have emerged from the sawdust.
An elite squad of guinea pigs, inspired by the new film G-Force, have set two new Guineas World Records, proving that when it comes to furry four-legged athletes, Britain truly has G-Force.
To mark the release of Jerry Bruckheimers new 3D family adventure about guinea pig government agents, starring Bill Nighy, the finest guinea pigs from across the UK were hand-picked to set a series of Guinness World Records.
Pitting their wits and paws against one another in a series of challenges, they successfully set two World Records, for Fastest Run by a Guinea Pig and Longest Jump by a Guinea Pig.
They joined the elite group of World Record Breakers alongside two other Guineas World Records, for highest jump (20cm) and oldest Guinea Pig (14 years, 10.5 months).
Bill Nighy, star of the film, which is released nationwide on Friday, said: With the release of G-Force, you wouldnt believe the amount of fan mail weve had from all over the UK from guinea pigs whove been inspired by the film.
So we hand-picked the finest of them and gave them the opportunity to compete in their own Guineas World Records. And trust me, these guys have serious G-Force.
The guinea pigs came together in a Central London cinema at a special screening of G-Force, where they wowed crowds, churning up the red carpet, jumping over 3D glasses and out of popcorn boxes!
After a hard fought contest, two year-old speed demon Flash set the new World record for fastest run, conquering the 10m red carpet track in just 8.81 seconds. Given hes a lot less than a tenth of the size of Usain Bolt, you could argue hes comparatively faster than the human world record holder!
The next Guinness World Record for Longest Jump was set by two and a half year-old Diesel, who leapt between two set points to a staggering 20.5 centimetres!
They narrowly missed topping the Highest Jump record which was set by a Swedish Guinea Pig called Puckel Martin in 2003 at a massive 20 centimetres!
Katie Ellis, 8, from Rainham in Kent, said, It was brilliant watching them set the records. Flash was my favourite I couldnt believe how fast he was!
Ive got a guinea pig myself called Guinea and cant wait to see G-Force. If Guinea could break his own world record it would either be Oldest Guinea Pig (hes six and a half) or fastest eater!
The records were both officially verified by Guinness and earned their place in record-breaking history, and their own Guineas Book of Records supplement, produced to coincide with the new film.
Marco Frigatti, Vice President of Guinness Records, said: We have all sorts of animals of all shapes and sizes breaking weird and wonderful records, but it makes sense for Guineas to have a record book of their own.
I was really impressed by the Guinea Pigs athleticism and certainly didnt think they could run that fast or jump that far!
Robin Kinsey, from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, said: Thanks to the exploits of Blaster, Hurley and Darwin in G-Force, guinea pigs are certainly becoming the new pet of choice in the UK, and now Flash and Diesel have raised the bar, we expect a craze across the nation of owners trying to beat these Guineas World Records!
G-Force is at UK cinemas everywhere from 31st July.