Nigerian student breaks 10-year-old record for longest painting marathon

Guinness World Records (GWR) on Wednesday announced that a Nigerian art student identified as Chancellor Ahaghotu has broken a decade-old record for the longest painting marathon.

GWR in a statement on its website said Ahaghotu broke the record which was set ten years ago after painting for 100 consecutive hours.

It added that Chancellor, a sophomore at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, far surpassed the previous record of 60 hours, set by Roland Palmaerts (Belgium/Canada) in 2013.

“I came to the United States to pursue my dreams and build up my career as a recognized artist,” Chancellor told GWR before embarking on his record attempt.

“Breaking the record will boost my recognition as an artist both in my school and the world at large.”

According to GWR, for this record, the challenger can either work on one large painting or create multiple ones, but the painting(s) must be of a recognizable image; abstract painting is not permissible.

Guinness World Records explained that over four days, Chancellor worked tirelessly to produce 106 pieces depicting all manner of subjects, including celebrities, food items, plants, animals, and much more.

And at the 60th hour, when he surpassed the previous record, the Nigerian student painted a broken record player.

“One thing I love about the paintings I created is that they were representing my different moods and how I was feeling when I created them,” Chancellor explained.

GWR said as with all ‘longest marathon’ records, the challenger is permitted a five-minute rest break for every continuous hour of activity, these rest breaks can be accumulated if not taken.

According to GWR, they were the only times Chancellor could use the bathroom, eat, or sleep.

Chancellor said he battled fatigue around the 88-hour mark, but he was committed to reaching his target of 100 hours.

As a result, he didn’t think about calling an end to the record attempt.