Penelope got her 15 minutes of fame when she set a record for the fastest time to complete 10 jumps by a rabbit as part of our Italian TV show Lo Show dei Record.
The talented bunny successfully jumped 10 obstacles in just 7.16 seconds, making her owner, 18-year-old Ole Roski (Germany), very proud.
What’s even more impressive is that Penelope is the first ever rabbit to set this record.
The record title was established in 2019 and, as part of the guidelines, a maximum time of 17 seconds was set. Since then, two other rabbits have attempted it but neither of them succeeded.
Ole is an animal lover with a soft spot for rabbits, ever since he got his first one in 2015. When he got Penelope as a Christmas present, he quickly realized how agile and fast she is, and that’s when he got the idea to train her for a record attempt.
Fast forward a few months, and little Penelope was ready to show her skills on the set of the Italian show in Milan, in front of a cheering crowd.
When Penelope took the stage at Lo Show dei Record, she didn’t seem too nervous to be in front of the cameras. Her first attempt started strong with her surpassing the first nine obstacles effortlessly, but she refused to jump the final one.
The moment she reached the tenth obstacle, Penelope sat down with her little head on the floor, unable to move. Ole tried to encourage her, but she was refusing to move.
Gerry Scotti, the show’s host, suggested perhaps the last obstacle was “so close to the screen that it scared her off”.
Thankfully, Ole and Penelope were allowed two more tries.
When, during her second attempt Penelope still hesitated to jump so close to the big screen, Scotti jokingly suggested that they should leave a big carrot at the end of the obstacles.
On her third and final try, Penelope finally overcame her fear and jumped over the last hurdle, becoming the first rabbit to set this impressive record!
You can see the video of the attempt here:
Happy with the result, Penelope and Ole reunited in a warm hug and then finally received their certificate from Guinness World Records Adjudicator Marco Frigatti.
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