Andrew Shapiro used an American TV show and his father’s cancer diagnosis as his inspiration to literally pull his way into the record books.
The 17-year-old completed more than 7,000 chin-ups over the course of 18 hours, breaking the previous 24-hour record of 6,800 set in 2015 by Czech Republic athlete Jan Kares.
He also set new six-hour and 12-hour marks during a Relay for Life event in Fairfax County, Virginia.
“It was blood, sweat and hours and hours and hours of hard work,” Shapiro told the Washington Post.
“I’ve always liked challenging myself so I’ll add this to my resume as a person for American Ninja Warrior. I figure they won’t say no to someone who has the world record for pull-ups.”
In addition to his desire to appear on television, Shapiro used the challenge to raise $4,000 for the American Cancer Society.
His dad had a five-year battle with colon cancer, undergoing two major surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. He is now cancer free and in remission.
Shapiro’s record breaking efforts included completing 3,515 pull-ups after six hours and 5,742 by the 12-hour mark.
He matched Kares’ record after 15 hours and continued for another three hours before stopping, having put his chin above the bar 7,306 times.
His family set up three video cameras to record the attempt, with 15 judges on hand to certify the achievement for the Guinness World Records books.

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