Teenager planks for a World Record while raising thousands

Two days after she turned 16 years old, Gabi Ury, of Colorado, doubled the Guinness World Record for the longest women’s abdominal plank. The current record is 40 minutes 1 second, although Ury held the plank for 1 hour 20 minutes and 5 seconds. She first discovered her aptitude for planking while at high school volleyball tryouts for a surprising 12 minutes. Since then, she’s dreamed of breaking the World Record while raising money for Children’s Hospital Colorado, the same hospital that has performed almost all of her 14 surgeries she has undergone combating the rare VATER syndrome. The syndrome affects Ury’s spine, legs, feet, and organs and instead of running during her tryouts, she did the plank due to her missing her calf muscles. She has created videos capturing her attempts at the plank, hoping to get an invite to the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Initially, Ury set a goal to raise $5,000, but she says she has received pledges amounting to $50,000. Guinness World Records is reviewing her accomplishment and is expected to issue a confirmation in May.