Determined 90-year-old grandma breaks record for oldest woman to hold a dead hang
Though she was only hanging from the bar for a few minutes, this fitness record broken by 90-year-old Ann Crile Esselstyn (USA) had been a lifetime in the marking.
Ever since she was a child, Ann was athletic – even though it was decades before Title IX made professional women’s leagues commonplace. Over the course of her life, she played and coached 10 different sports, maintained a healthy and physical lifestyle, and encouraged her children and grandchildren to follow in her footsteps, all without formal recognition.
However, on 6 March, the nonagenarian finally was able to take home a title of her own, after becoming the oldest person to hold the dead hang position (female) in the world!
At 90 years and 231 days old, she held her body weight in a suspended position for an incredible total of two minutes and 52 seconds, to defeat the 2024 title from 81-year-old Annie Judis (USA).
“It was new for me to be going for a record, and to be celebrated in this way, since I have spent my life cheering for our four children and 10 grandchildren in their varied athletic events and achievements,” Ann said to GWR.
“I never ever in 90 years imagined that I would be fortunate enough to have the focused training, support, and desire to actually get a Guinness World Records title – [especially] at the age of 90!”
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Ann decided this February to take on the record, after her family members planted the seeds of inspiration in her head.
Last year, she had begun a daily fitness journey after her daughter-in-law Polly Labarre motivated her to try something new for 40 days, so she started riding on her Peloton bike every morning before breakfast. When that time was up, the habit was already formed, and now Ann exercises in some way – whether that be on her Peloton, or through yoga, running, or lifting weights – before her first meal of the day.
“And I LOVE my breakfast,” she added.
Occasionally, she would try hanging from a bar to improve her posture – and perhaps make her taller. But it was her son Rip who inspired her to take on the record, after he told her about a fitness challenge he was starting called “Hang with Rick.”
“I commented, ‘Oh, I do that sometimes,’” said Ann. “He asked me to go to the pull up bar and hang for as long as I could. We were on FaceTime.
“I positioned the phone so he could watch, and hung for one minute and 15 seconds. Rip was flabbergasted!”
The following day, Rip happened to read a story in the paper about Annie Judis holding the record after surpassing the two-minute minimum, and he enthusiastically called up his mom – telling her that she should try and beat it.
“Because I was able to hang for one minute and 15 seconds without much training, it didn’t sound impossible,” she said.
From that point onwards, Rip became her coach – and starting on 2 February, he’d call her every day, asking her how she was hanging (pun intended).
In the beginning, Ann would break the two-minute duration into smaller chunks… but as the month wore on, she soon developed her strength. One day, her son called her to say that he hung for two minutes and 16 seconds, and Ann knew that she was ready to challenge him.
“Believe it or not, as the month went on, I could feel my hands starting to get stronger. The blisters that hurt so much at first turned to callouses; my back was feeling a little better,” she said.
“That morning, I hung for two minutes and 20 seconds. Not only beating Rip – who wins in everything – but also informally getting the Guinness World Records title. I was pumped!”
After another few weeks of training, Rip told his mom that she was ready to take on the title.
A small army showed up to her house in Pepper Pike, Ohio, that 6 March, including: timers, photographers, witnesses, a lawyer, a firefighter, neighbours, and two personal trainers. Ann was also “delighted” that all four of her children were in town to witness her make history, in a full-circle moment where they were able to cheer for her just like she cheered for them.
And cheer they did – nearly the entire time she was hanging, you could hear a chorus of voices shouting “Go Mom!” and “C’mon, Ann!”
“I feel so lucky to have children and a husband who cheered me on and supported me all along the way,” she said.
For Ann’s first attempt, she held herself for an amazing two minutes and 41 seconds – but an eagle-eyed witness pointed out that she kicked her feet with excitement, and they decided to redo the event just in case she could be disqualified.
And finally, after a 30 minute break, Ann was ready.
“Time seemed to stop,” she said. “Everyone was quiet until the two-minute mark. At two minutes and 30 seconds the room exploded with cheering. Then I heard that I had gone longer than my first attempt.
“My hands were just beginning to slip. I threw my head back, looked at the ceiling and squeezed. I could feel my face flushing. Slowly, my hands slipped off the bar, and my feet were on the floor.
“My back and arms hurt, but the hurrahs that I had broken the time of my first attempt and came close to three minutes left me in a state of amazement – and the pain in my back melted away with the joyful excitement around the room,” she added. “Maybe if I had known I was so close, I might have held on just a little longer. Another day!”
And to all the other seniors out there who may find inspiration in Ann’s story, she has just a few words of advice: “just keep moving.”
“Take the stairs, lift weights, stretch, walk, do yoga, dance, and always just MOVE!” she said.
“And maybe best of all, if you challenge yourself and stick with something for 40 days – as I did with the Peloton – the power of the universe really is with you,” she continued. “Even though I achieved my goal and got the Guinness World Records title, I’m still hanging every day for at least two minutes!
“Not long after my record, I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and realized I hadn’t hung that day. I went downstairs in the dark in my pajamas to hang,” said Ann. “It felt right.”