A young Nigerian, Tonye Solomon has set a Guinness World Record by climbing 150 steps to the top of a radio mast measuring 250 feet (76 metres) in height while balancing a football on his head.
Disclosing this on its website on Wednesday, GWR said Solomon set the record in August in Bayelsa State.
“New record: Most steps climbed on a ladder while balancing a football on the head – 150 by Tonye Solomon (Nigeria),” GWR posted on X, formerly Twitter.
After Solomon completed a 60 km journey from Amassoma to Yenagoa with a football on his head, GWR said some people doubted his story.
Inspired, Tonye decided to prove them wrong by setting a Guinness World Records title by climbing 150 steps on a ladder with a football on his head.
New record: Most steps climbed on a ladder while balancing a football on the head – 150 by Tonye Solomon (Nigeria) ️⚽️
Don’t look down 👀 pic.twitter.com/yeZAXe1CxH
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) September 13, 2023
Tonye reportedly appeared unaffected by the steep climb during the record attempt, finishing it in just 12.5 minutes. After conquering all 150 steps, he jubilantly threw the ball down and celebrated with a triumphant fist pump.
“After Tonye Solomon walked 60 km (37 mi) with a football on his head from Amassoma to Yenagoa in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, many of his compatriots doubted the authenticity of his story,” GWR said.
“So, to prove them wrong, Tonye decided to demonstrate his skills by setting a Guinness World Record title for the most steps climbed on a ladder while balancing a football on the head.
“He successfully achieved the dizzying feat last month by climbing 150 steps to the top of a 250-foot (76-meter) tall radio mast while expertly keeping control of the ball atop his head,” the Records stated.
Reacting, Solomon said he wanted to set this record to challenge himself and “inspire others to do great things.”
He was said to have spent two months training for it, using all his free time to practise until he was confident that he would not fail, and that during the record attempt, he was seemingly unfazed by the steep ascent, taking just 12 and a half minutes to complete the climb.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “I thank the Nigerian Civil Defense Bayelsa State Command for allowing me use their facility for this.”
Solomon is a member of the Chukwuebuka Freestyle Academy, led by Chukwuebuka Ezugha. This academy has nurtured many talents like Kid Eche, Vincent Okezie, Victor Richard Kipo, and Confidence Kipo, who have all achieved remarkable records.
Another Nigerian Master Chukwuebuka Chinonso Eche from Amuri, Enugu State, recently won and entered the Guinness Book of Records in international football skills and joggling competition.
He broke the records of all football legends and competitors.
A Twitter user who posted the video of his award ceremony said:
He broke the records of all football legends and competitors.
#proudly🇳🇬
#HOPE FOR NIGERIA!
#PARENTS ARE DESTROYING
#CHILDREN ARE BUILDING
#OLD GEN IS LOSING
#NEW GEN IS WINNING
#God bless New Nigerians
Eche first made a mark in 2019 when he achieved a record for the “most consecutive football touches in one minute while balancing a football on the head with a remarkable 111 touches.”
By 2021, the talented football kid added to his feathers by breaking three more freestyle records.
The records include; the fastest time to 1,000 football touches while balancing a ball on the head (7 min 46 sec), most football headers in a prone position in one minute (233) and most football ouches in a seated position while balancing a ball on the head in one minute (197).
This earned him a spot in the Young Achievers, Guinness World Records 2022 book and got him a FIFA recognition.
Now known as Amazing Kid Eche, he told Guinness World Record he started playing with round objects when he was four while freestyle football started for him at the age of eight.
A midfielder, Eche explained that his favourite football freestylers are Lionel Messi & Ronaldinho because they apply their freestyle skills during football games.
Speaking on his record-breaking feat, he said “It’s a dream come true to become the youngest Nigerian in the Guinness World Records book. My family was very proud of me.”
On future plans, he said, “I want to run for the longest distance while balancing a ball on my head and juggle one ball for 2,000 touches while balancing another on my head.”
In the meantime, PRNigeria’s fact-check reveals a 15-year-old Nigerian, Vincent Okezie, is actually a recipient of the Guinness World Record in football.
The fact-check confirmed a widely shared Facebook post that claimed that one 15-year-old Vincent Okezie had won a football Guinness World Record but later became a mechanic due to a lack of sponsorship and support from the government and the public. https://prnigeria.com/2023/05/22/vincent-guinness-world-records/
The claim was widespread after a Nigerian chef, Hilda Bassey Effiong, popularly known as Hilda Buci, broke the Guinness World Record for longest cooking hours.
Hilda broke the record, which was previously held by Indian chef Lata Tondon. Tondon had made meals for 87 hours, 45 minutes, and 00 seconds.
To investigate the social media claim of Okezie’s feat, PRNigeria conducted a keyword search and the result revealed that Legit had published a similar story of the unhelped 15-year-old boy who was said to have won multiple Football Guinness World Records, but later deleted it as the link is not opening.
In August 2022, Guinness World Records published on its websites that an Abia 15-year-old Vincent Okezie alongside Richard Kipo achieved “the most over and underpasses of a football (soccer ball) with feet touching in one minute.”
The post containing the claim has, at the time of carrying out this fact check, generated 51k likes, 4k comments, and 2.1k shares.
Meanwhile, PRNigeria further discovered that Vincent’s name appeared on Most transfers of footballs (soccer balls) spun on the finger in 30 seconds (team of two); the “Most consecutive passes of a football (soccer ball) between the head and soles while balancing on the back of a person” in March 2022. He was also named with Victor Richard Kipo in the “the most football (soccer) ‘around the world’ tricks with arms linked (team of two) in March 2023.
In another investigation, PRNigeria detected a video wherein the boy in question spoke about his uncelebrated football strides.
He said, “My name is Okezie Vincent. I won Guinness World Records four times, and nobody in Nigeria has celebrated me. Now, I am working as an apprentice in a mechanic workshop because there was no opportunity for me to pursue my football career.”
Okezie was seen displaying his football talents that earned the certificates in the footage that is enjoying massive sharing on social media platforms.
While there is a discrepancy regarding the number of records attributed to him, Okezie, in a widely shared post, was seen holding five Guinness World Records certificates.
Based on the facts gathered by PRNigeria, Vincent Okezie has won the Guinness World Records on different occasions.
However, some of the winning acts were performed with other Nigerians, namely Victor Richard Kipo, Chukwuebuka Ezugha,
Therefore, PRNigeria concludes that it is TRUE the claim that Vincent Okezie won Guinness World Records on Football Acts, even though most occasions with other young Nigerians
It is also discovered that he was not widely celebrated by the media and personalities, as was the case with Nigerian Chef Hilda Baci.
Credit: Channels TV/ PRNigeria
