Since Hilda Baci’s Guinness World Record history-making cooking feat in May 2023, several Nigerian women decided to follow suit in an attempt to set new records and put their names in history.
What was once a distant global feat has now become a national movement, inspiring creatives, entrepreneurs, chefs, artists, and changemakers to push their limits in very public ways.
However, while some attempts ended in official certification, others did not receive confirmation or were not validated.
Because Guinness World Records maintains a strict verification process, issues like lack of formal pre-approval or application before the attempt, failure to meet strict timing or documentation requirements, and practical setbacks like exhaustion, collapse, or delays are all grounds on which records are unverified.
Here are six women who made bold attempts but did not ultimately secure an official Guinness World Record title.
1. Chef Dammy
Barely one month after Hilda Baci’s cook-a-thon record, 22-year-old Damilola Adeparusi, popularly known as Chef Dammy, attempted to break Baci’s yet-to-be-confirmed record with a 120-hour cooking marathon. However, her attempt was never confirmed by Guinness World Records because it was not officially registered.
2. Adeyeye Adeola
An Ondo-based chef, Adeyeye Adeola, also known as Chef Deo, began her 150-hour cook-a-thon on June 30, 2023, in an attempt to break Hilda Baci’s Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon.
Despite completing the marathon, she was not recognized as the official record holder.
3. Joyce Ijeoma
In July 2023, Joyce Ijeoma attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the longest massage done by an individual on different people. She, however, collapsed from exhaustion after working a total of 50 hours and was unable to break the 72-hour massage-a-thon attempt. The current official record stands at 25 hours, 4 minutes, set in 2015 by Alastair Galpin of Indonesia.
4. Subair Enitan
Enitan Subair, a student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, was on a mission to set a new handwashing record in November 2023. Enitan ended the marathon after 58 hours, surpassing her initial plan of 50 hours, and was also hospitalized due to exhaustion. The record body, however, failed to confirm Enitan as a record breaker.
There are no widely published updates confirming her recognition, so her attempt remains unverified or awaiting confirmation.
5. Amuda Mariam (Mary Gold)
In December 2023, Nigerian journalist and broadcaster Amuda Mariam, known as “Mary Gold,” attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon talk show, aiming for 100 hours. Her goal was to surpass the previous record of 73 hours and 23 minutes.
However, after concluding the marathon, there is no official confirmation of her Guinness certification (and reports vary about whether she actually received the title or was still awaiting verification).
ALSO READ: 14 Nigerian Women Whose Names Are In The Guinness Book Of Records
6. Lisha Dachor
In May 2024, Nigerian nail technician Lisha Dachor completed a 72-hour “nail-a-thon,” aiming to break the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon painting of artificial nails. The 19-year-old painted over 4000 artificial nails in 72 hours.
Despite completing her attempt, there is no immediate public record of official confirmation of this attempt at the time of reporting.