The Canberra Raiders in conjunction with Habitat Personnel and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs have broken the Australian and Southern Hemisphere record for the largest ever 3 legged race at Northbourne Oval in Canberra today.
Over 1000 people participated in the event today falling agonising short of the official Guinness World Record for the largest ever 3 legged race, with 594 pairs of races participating which fell marginally short of the 649 pairs of racers required to break the official World Record.
Despite not breaking the world record, today’s 3 legged race was the largest of its kind ever in the Southern Hemisphere and was a wonderful way to kick-start the NRL close the gap round, which helps celebrate the Indigenous aspect of the NRL and promotes some wonderful messages across the community.
Chris Sheedy from Guinness World Records said the event was one of the best World Record attempts he’s ever been a part of and said Canberra should be proud of the amount of people who turned out for the event.
“This was by far the biggest 3 legged race we’ve seen not only in Australia but the entire Southern Hemisphere which is a great result,” Mr Sheedy Said. “I see a lot of things around the world and this event has been special because of the wonderful meaning behind it and everybody who took part today should be proud of their effort.”
Canberra Raiders star and proud Indigenous player Jack Wighton said the Raiders enjoyed mixing with the community and participating in such a unique event and said everyone should be proud of the effort in attending the race today.
“The race today was a lot of fun and it was great to see plenty of Indigenous kids and school kids from across Canberra join us in trying to break the World Record,” Wighton said. “Although we might not have reached the number, to have over 1000 people in one place promoting Indigenous health is great for the game and we should all be proud.
“It’s a great way to kick off close the gap round in the NRL and we’ve got a big week coming up, including wearing our special Indigenous jerseys in the match against the Dragons on Saturday.”
Joining the race today were over 400 cadets from Australian Defence Force Academy along with Major General Simone Wilkie and a number of local school children from across Canberra and Queanbeyan.
The organisers of the event would like to thank sponsors of today’s event for their contribution including Huawei, Defence Housing Australia, Canberra Milk, ActewAGL, Habitat Personnel, Defence, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Canberra Raiders.
IMAGE: Raiders winger Edrick Lee joined by one of the participants in yesterday's Guinness World Record Attempt for the largest ever 3 legged race
