A 61-year-old grandmother has proved age is just a number after holding an abdominal plank for a mind-boggling five hours straight, setting a new world record.
DonnaJean Wilde, a mother of five and grandmother of 12 from Canada, achieved the superhuman feat at the World Senior Games in Utah, leaving spectators, officials and social media in complete awe.
The retired school teacher didn’t just beat the record — she demolished her own previous world mark of four hours, 30 minutes, and 11 seconds, which she set in 2024.
Holding a standard plank for even 60 seconds is enough to leave most gym-goers trembling, making Wilde’s five-hour stint in the hard abdominal hold seem almost impossible.
Remarkably, Wilde, from Alberta in Canada, only discovered her talent for planking in 2013 after breaking her arm.
Unable to run or perform traditional cardio in a heavy cast, she turned to core exercises after her children challenged each other to a family plank-off.
What started as a way to stay active during injury recovery quickly turned into a passion.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, her family urged her to see how long she could actually hold the pose — and were stunned when she hit the two-hour mark without breaking a sweat.
She officially began targeted world-record training in 2023, integrating hundreds of daily push-ups, weight training, running, and dead hangs alongside hours of planking.
The core marathon isn’t Wilde’s only world record, either.
In 2024, she famously set the female world record for the most push-ups completed in 60 minutes, smashing an astonishing 1575 reps.
Her latest record-breaking performance at the World Senior Games has sparked viral praise online, calling her a “legend” and her accomplishment “amazing.”
“Congratulations, you are an inspiration,” one person wrote on her Instagram page.
“This is actually the most insane thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” a second person commented.
“Seriously impressive,” another person expressed with the fire emoji.
“That’s insane, good for her,” another person chimed in.
“Congrats on the record, it’s super badass,” one person commented with the muscle emoji.
As for her next record attempt, Wilde claims she wants to do at least 1600 push-ups in an hour and break her second record.
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