Two New Guinness World Records Name Sword Swallowing and Roderick Russell

The Guinness World Records organization recently announced the official release of the records for Most Swords Swallowed at Once as well as the Most Swallowed Sword, and my name appears on both records.

Technically these records were “set” in years past, but the Guinness organization has finally issued the certificates for both.

Nine Sword Swallowers – Fifty-Two Swords
The record for most swords swallowed at once was set in 2005 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and is a collaborative record held between myself and eight other sword swallowers, who simultaneously swallowed a total of 52 swords during the 4th Annual Sideshow Gathering. The record attempt – and success – was sponsored by the Sword Swallowers’ Association International, the organization which I co-founded in 2001/2002.

This new record is added to the original collaborative sword swallowing record set in 2002 which featured 19 of us sword swallowers, swallowing a combined total of 50 swords at one time. This first record was set during the 1st Annual Sideshow Gathering and Sword Swallowing Convention, the sword swallowing aspect of which was again sponsored and organized by myself and Dan Meyer, acting as principles of the Sword Swallowers’ Association International.

Sword of Swords – World’s Most Swallowed Sword
The record for Most Swallowed Sword – affectionately termed the Sword of Swords – belongs to a blade owned by Thomas Blackthorne. He has been dragging the blade around the world with him since 2002 in order to compile this record.

Calling upon my memory of the event, Thomas was finding the competitive urge to constantly swallow more swords than the next performer quite irritating and ridiculous – I’m in agreement – so he humorously decided that instead of setting the record for most swords swallowed, he’d set his sights on the most swallowed sword. While this critical and satirical commentary on the nature of the profession is not pointed out in any of the recorded documentation – nor do I suspect that many see the subtlety – it is this aspect which makes me proud to be a supporter and participant.

As of this date, the Sword of Swords has been swallowed by 34 of the world’s small population of sword swallowers. I am named as having been one of the early ones to swallow it, on the occasion of the first sword swallowing convention in Wilkes-Barre, PA, but in truth I swallowed it much earlier and count it as the first blade that I swallowed, while in Milan, Italy studying with Thomas. I’ll never forget his advice upon placing it in my throat and pushing it as far as I could at the time – that is, not very. I won’t share those specific words with you here – for fear of folks actually trying it – but it left me with a blade firmly planted in my throat pushing my epiglottis closed while I marveled at how damn painful it was. I didn’t swallow it to the hilt by any means – it’s actually quite a large sword and I was by no means proficient at the time – but being the sword that pushed past my most persistent obstacles in learning the art of sword swallowing, I count it as the first blade that went significantly down my throat. I was pleased when Thomas brought it to the States with him – after I had officially become proficient and put the act on stage – and I was able to formally swallow it for the record, with much greater ease than the first time of course, and CNN was able to capture the footage of it, which was subsequently aired on their network.

Congratulations to the others named on the new records!

[tags]big swallow, guinness world records, SSAI, sword of swords, sword swallowers, sword swallowers association international, sword swallowing[/tags]