A father and son are celebrating after they smashed the world record for the longest ever table tennis rally – lasting an incredible EIGHT HOURS and 40 minutes.
Peter and Daniel Ives methodically hit a single ball back and forth a mind-numbing 32,000 times and didn’t even stop for a toilet break.
They beat the previous record by just ten minutes before the rally came to and end when the ball bounced off Peter’s finger.
The pair slurped on energy drinks, painkillers and Jaffa Cakes throughout the challenge, which was broadcast live on the internet to more than 7,000 ping pong fans.
Daniel, 24, of Bradley Stoke, Bristol, said his eyes were watering through pain by the end and the lightweight bat “felt like a boulder”.
“It was so difficult getting to the record and the last five minutes felt like hours,” he said.
“We wanted to continue until 10 hours but I think when we got past the mark we were so relieved to get there we just broke down and our concentration lapsed.
“Our playing just relaxed and ten minutes later the ball hit my dad’s finger and it was all over.
“The eight hours drove us absolutely insane. We did three practice sessions of five hours and they felt like a lifetime but this was so much more intense.
“But we had a lot of people there with us for the record and there was a lot of support.
“It helped when the eyes were watering from the pain of hitting the ball over and over and it felt like the bat was a boulder in your hand.
“My shoulder was killing me and I only got through it with energy drinks and painkillers and Jaffa Cakes.
“The last five minutes was very nerve-wracking heading towards the record. The whole room went completely silent. Then there was a huge cheer when we passed the mark.
“I have never put so much concentration into one thing, I had to remain focussed every second throughout.”
Daniel, who has been playing the sport for 14 years, first came up with the idea during a conversation with his dad on New Year’s Eve.
They decided to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK because Daniel’s girlfriend’s dad had suffered with the disease.
After much planning Peter, 50, from London, came together with son Daniel on Sunday (March 23) at Plumstead Radical Club in the city.
They were aiming to beat the previous record of eight hours 30 minutes and six seconds set by Americans Max Fergus and Luke Logan in August 2013.
Despite initially starting well by hour six the pair suffered shoulder and wrist pain and withstood the constant sound of the ping pong ball being knocked over a net.
They hit the ball roughly once every second – meaning each player played roughly 16,000 shots.
The exhausted duo were given hourly updates, and as they surpassed the original record, a cheer from onlookers went up around the room.
Witnessed by an official and two members of their club, they set the new world record at eight hours, 40 minutes and five seconds before the ball ricocheted off the table.
The pair have so far raised #1,400 for Prostate Cancer UK.
Daniel said: “I am overwhelmed by the donations and support we got throughout the record.
“It feels great having broken the world’s longest table tennis rally for a sport everyone has played.
It is awesome to be a record holder, especially with table tennis because a lot of peopple have played it before.
“I’m involved with the sport everyday through my coaching so it is cool to say I’m the record holder for the longest rally.”
To donate to the duo go to www.justgiving.com/
