Somewhere, someone in the world is the best at something. And sometimes, it takes a bit of creative thinking to figure out what that something is.
For wheelchair users, this opens up a whole set of skills that many people didn’t even know existed. From incredible feats of balance to wheelchair backflips, people with disabilities are setting world records all over the world for some really amazing accomplishments.
Here are just a few of those world records that are currently recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Longest Wheelie in a Wheelchair
The longest continuous wheelie in a wheelchair is currently held by Xie Junwu of China, who covered a distance of 16.03 miles solely on the rear wheels of his wheelchair on May 12th, 2012.
Watch Mr. Junwu in action here.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPikRUdxoPI]
Longest Stationary Manual on a Wheelchair
As of June 21st, 2014, Canadian native Michael Dylan Kennedy holds the record for the longest stationary manual on a wheelchair with a time of 12 hours and 30 minutes, beating the previous record by over 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Heaviest Aircraft Pulled Over 100m By a Wheelchair Team
It took just four minutes for a team of 84 wheelchair users to pull a 148,128.59 lb aircraft on May 29th, 2011. They pulled the aircraft a total of 120 meters.
We can only imagine how far they could pull one of our disabled vehicles in that time.
First Wheelchair Backflip
Aaron Fotheringham of the United States is the first known person to land a wheelchair backflip, having completed it in Las Vegas on October 25th, 2008. Fotheringham, who suffers from spina bifida, has been in a wheelchair since he was 13 years old.
Fotheringham also has the world record for the highest wheelchair ramp jump at 60 cm.
See him do a double backflip here.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Oz3_cFv82Y]
Wheelchair Free Throws
The most consecutive wheelchair free throws made is currently held by Jeff Walker of the US. Walker, who plays for the NWBA, hit 11 consecutive free throws on July 10th, 2013.
The most wheelchair free throws sunk in one minute is tied at 25 by NWBA players Jeff Griffin and Trooper Gordon, who both set the record on February 14th, 2008.
Longest Distance Covered on a Wheelchair Trainer
Starting on August 31st, 2013 and finishing on September 1st, 2013, professional Brazilian wheelchair athlete, Carlos Oliveira traversed 149.42 miles using a competition wheelchair attached to a stationary roller. He averaged 6.225 miles per hour and completed over 12 miles in both his and final hours alone.
Do you know of any other amazing records held by people with disabilities. Let us know in the comments below!