By CHARLES IWUOHA

An Ebonyi State indigene, Engr. Celestine Onele, is to begin 150 hours marathon ironing today, Monday, April 22, 2024 to break the Guinness World Record.

Onele, an Electrical Engineer by profession, hails from Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

He is currently pursuing his Master's Degree at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, told newsmen in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, on Sunday, that he has gotten approval from Guinness for the 150 hours marathon ironing with rules that must be strictly adhered to for the record.

Nothing stated that he was mentally sound for the event which will hold at Real Exclusive Garden event centre in Abakaliki, the state capital and urged the general public to bring their clothes for ironing to break the record.

According to him, he liked ironing from childhood which motivated him to seek for the record and that he aims to beat Garric Standard from United Kingdom (UK) and Huston from Australia who had broken the record in the past.

"Before Garric Standard from UK, the current record holder was Huston from Australia. So, she broke the record in 2012 with 80 hours before Garric did in 2015 for 100 hours.

"So, after Garric Standard did, Guinness has given approval for some individuals who have attempted the record but they didn't get the acknowledgement based on the fact that there were so many rules they tempered with.

"Currently, I am on the verge of attempting Guinness World Record for the longest marathon ironing in the world. So, if I surpass the current holder of the record, I will be the new holder for the longest marathon ironing by an individual in the world. I am an engineer but I love being inspired to do different things to put my name in the map.

"On 7th July last year, I submitted my application to Guinness World after a rigorous research which we all know that after submitting application, it takes a whole lot of inspection from different expertise and by the Grace of God, after 18 weeks of waiting, I got a mail that my application to attempt a Guinness World Record has been approved.

After three weeks, a specific guideline was approved for me and it's a guideline that I have to follow to break the record. There are so many rules in the guideline which if you temper with the rules, you will not be recognized.

"Some of the rules say, I have 30 seconds to pick materials. So, whenever I finish ironing a material, I have 30 seconds to pick up another material and iron. And for the rest break, I have just 5 minutes to rest after 1 hour", he stated.