Serial record breaker collects eighth title by throwing axe more than 180 ft

A Turkish man threw an axe further than the length of an Olympic swimming pool to add another record to his growing collection.

Osman Gürcü is becoming somewhat of a prolific record breaker after achieving the farthest distance axe throw with a total of 56 m (183 ft 8.72 in).

For context, an Olympic swimming pool is 50 m (164 ft) long.

Osman obliterated the previous record of 43.58 m (143 ft) set by Jesse Rood (USA).

Dad-of-two Osman told us that he’s constantly checking the Guinness World Records website and social media channels for new challenges he can take on.

And his dream is to one day open our annual book and see himself within the pages.

The 43-year-old said: “It was an incredible feeling to break the record, because the distance is very far and you have to be able to get far and at the same time the axe has to get stuck in the target board.

“I hit it many times but it didn't get stuck and I never gave up.”

Osman, who works as a private security guard, says he couldn’t train for the record as much as he would have liked to because of how cold and wet it was.

And while he was working up to breaking the record, it was broken by somebody else, extending the distance he had to achieve.

Luckily for Osman, he says throwing is a natural talent he’s had since childhood.

And that makes a lot of sense when you realize he has seven other records for throwing things:

• Farthest basketball hook shot - 25 m (82.021 ft)
• Farthest behind-the-backboard basketball shot - 11 m (36 ft 1.07 in)
• Farthest basketball bounce shot - 30 m (98.42 ft)
• Longest cornhole backwards shot - 18 m (59.05 ft)
• Longest cornhole shot - 26 m (85 ft 3.6 in)
• Farthest throw of a ping pong ball into a cup - 13 m (42.65 ft)
• Farthest throw of a rubber chicken - 35 m (114 ft 9 in)

Osman with wife Sultan and daughters Ekin and Helin

He’s not stopping there.

Osman said: “I plan to break more records. In January, I plan to break the bullseye record for shooting a red dot in the middle of a dartboard from the farthest distance. This record is a very difficult and important record for me. Also, the series of basketball shooting records will continue and I will try even more interesting records.

“Being a record holder makes me very happy.”