Mercyhurst University Breaks Two World Records in 24 Hours - WICU12/WSEE Erie, PA News, Sports, Weather and Events

Mercyhurst University Breaks Two World Records in 24 Hours

Mercyhurst University is making history, tonight.

During a 24-hour event called EnduROWthon, they broke not one, but two world records.  The event began Thursday, at 9:00 p.m.

The men's rowing team had 24 hours to break the record for the greatest distance rowed by a light-weight team.  They accomplished it by 6:30 p.m. Friday.  By 9:00 p.m. the team reached  over 451,000 meters.  The original record, was 406,000 meters.

Meanwhile, the other record for the largest number of people rowing on one machine in 24 hours, was broken at 10:45 a.m.  By 9:00 p.m. nearly 600 people took part.  According to event organizers, the former record was 352 people, which was set last summer in Poland.

Mercyhurst Men's Rowing Coach Adrian Spracklen calls these accomplishments, a win-win for everyone.

"This is a proud day for Erie, for Mercyhurst University, and obviously for the rowing team," said Spracklen.  "It's nice that something of this magnitude happened, that people can get excited about it, and be proud of.  I want people to be proud of what we did in Erie today."

The men's row team is made up of 30 athletes, but only 10 were allowed to participate under  Guinness World Records guidelines.