Teen With Brittle Bone Disease Sets World Record For Longest Raised Leg Hold
A teenager living with an incurable brittle bone disease has set a world record for the longest raised leg hold – for an impressive two hours.
Sparsh Shah, 19, has Osteogenesis Imperfecta. Living with the chronic disorder means the New Jersey native is unable to bear weight on his hands and legs. But that didn’t stop him from taking on a world record, after he realized his core was exceptionally strong.
Sparsh, a musician and philanthropist, had planned to stop at an hour but, realizing he could keep going, carried on for the second hour. His two-hour time has been officially recognized and is now the Guinness World Record holder.
“My physical therapist told me I had to strengthen the core for my back,” Sparsh said. “So, I started with one to two minutes, and I kept my legs up in the air at a 45-degree angle.
“When I realized I could hold it for a couple of minutes, I started increasing the time every single day by a minute.
“My doctor was the one who suggested I submit an application for the world record. He said out of all the kids he’s treated with my type of condition, he’d never seen anyone achieve the lengths of time I was achieving.”
Sparsh intended to set the record for the longest raised leg hold by holding his legs in the air for a full hour on July 21. The previous record is thought to have stood at 10 minutes.
This record is part of Guinness World Records’ impairment classifications, the organization said. This initiative introduced 23 new categories to a range of sport, strength and journey records for those with physical, intellectual and visual impairments.
Sparsh hopes his record title will spark a health campaign and inspire those with and without disabilities to go the distance when it comes to their fitness. He also intends to continue testing his own limits by training and attempting to continuously break his own record.
The teen told Guinness World Records’ website: “My name means ‘touch’ in Sanskrit, so, my vision is to ‘sparsh’ people’s hearts all over the world. Able-bodied’ and ‘disabled’ are literally nothing but labels that have been put on us by society, so never think of yourself as disabled.”
“You ARE able-bodied in your own way, and everyone is differently able. You never know what you can or can’t do until you try.
“The only limitations we have are in our mind. If we set our mind free and work hard towards our goals, we can achieve the impossible.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker.
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