Fearless Gymnast Soars 19 Ft Through The Air To Land Record-Breaking Backflip.

gymnast ashley watson screaming in celebration of breaking his guinness world record

The only thing cooler than breaking a Guinness World Record is breaking your own.

That’s exactly what YouTuber and professional gymnast Ashley Watson did on GWR (Guinness World Records) Day.

Held every year in November, GWR Day is all about celebrating current world records and encouraging others to test their skills by breaking some of their own. In 2018, Ashley did just that with the farthest backflip between two horizontal bars at a distance of 19 feet, 3.1 inches (or 5.87 meters).

Setting such an impressive record is no easy feat. Ashley is incredibly athletic, having spent 15 years dedicated to gymnastics. He even earned a spot on the Great British Performance Squad, where he had the opportunity to travel across the world, collecting several medals along the way.

Yet even with Ashley’s impressive skills, attempting to break an already lofty record was no simple task. After three years spent training for November 17, 2021, there’s no doubt he was feeling the pressure when his big moment finally arrived.

“This is an official Guinness World Record Attempt,” said a GWR representative, signaling that Ashley was ready to go.

The audience surrounding him as he began his attempt remained fairly quiet as he prepared himself, the weight of the moment heavy in the air. Then, as Ashley began spinning in the air – hands extended to grab onto the bars just out of his reach – cheers began to erupt, quickly turning into a full-blown roar as Ashley successfully held onto the bars and stuck his landing after 19 feet, 68 inches (or 6 meters).

“Seeing Ash achieve this record was truly spectacular, he totally embodies this year’s theme of super skills,” said Alan Pixley, GWR adjudicator. “Ash and all of this year’s Guinness World Records title holders are an example of how crafting your skills and strengths can lead you to become Officially Amazing.”

As stunned and amazed as the crowd was, even the remarkable athlete couldn’t believe what he had done!

“Being able to break my own Guinness World Records title after years of training feels incredible,” Ashley said. “Back in 2018 when I first broke the record I could never have imagined adding a whole 13cm onto the distance three years later.”

Congratulations to Ashley and all the other remarkable people across the world for taking on such incredible feats and for breaking insurmountable records!

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