Coach Okong’o managed an 11-hour marathon abdominal plank in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, beating the previous record by over 1 hour.
Oliver Ochieng, Marabou News Agency
A Kenyan fitness coach is looking to be recognised by the Guinness Book of Records, after successfully completing an 11-hour abdominal planking challenge in Nairobi.
An abdominal plank is done by one supporting the body weight on the forearms and the balls of the feet, while keeping the torso in a straight line from head to heels. Other forms of planks include forearm, side and shoulder.
Coach Salim Okong’o, a trainer at Superfit gym in Nairobi embarked on the challenge at Nairobi Archives in an attempt to break the 9 hours, 38 minutes and 47 seconds world record set by Josef Šálek of the Czech Republic in 2023.
Cheered on by trainees, family members and supporters, coach Okong’o managed an 11-hour marathon abdominal plank, beating the previous record by over 1 hour. He is now crossing his fingers for the record to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.
Training took him 6-7 years to come this far. “What motivates me is the fact that I want this record to come to Kenya. There’s no way those records will just be out there and we don’t have them. The motivation is that Kenya should also have a plank record so as to show that we can. The motivation is that the record comes to Kenya. I really pray that it comes,” he said.
Ann Mureithi, one of his trainees, wished him all the best.
“We are here as you can see, celebrating him and we are trying to see if he can get in the Guinness Book of Records. We are so proud of him, we love him so much, he is our mentor, our coach, we always rely on him because he is the best.”
The current women’s abdominal planking record is 5 hours set by Canadian DonnaJean Wilde set on October 06, 2026, surpassing her previous official record of 4 hours, 30 minutes, and 11 seconds.
Before a record is recognized by the Guinness World Records, it has to undergo evidence submission and verification. Planking is not an Olympic sport.
Marabou News Agency
Editor: George Mutero
