Arsenal player Theo Walcott has broken a world record as he successfully controlled a ball from 34 metres height.
The Guinness World Record presented him an award for the feat as he beat three teammates Francis Coquelin, Nacho Montreal, and Laurent Koscielny in the ultimate control challenge.
The Betfair Ultimate Cash Out Control challenge was a bid to break the previous world record of 32 metres. The rules are that the ball be controlled five times before it touches the ground when dropped from that height.
Koscielny and Monreal failed their attempts at breaking the record, in the challenge that started at 25 metres before the attempt at breaking the standing record. Coquelin did well at 25 metres but forced laughter off his teammates who were looking on during the real attempt at a new record. Walcott stepped up next, running forward to slow the ball with the side of his boot before completing the challenge by keeping it from the ground four more times to successfully break the previous record.
“It was great to watch four top-level professional footballers gathered on a crisp sunny morning to take up the challenge. It looked easy at 2 metres but when the ball was released at 34 metres, it was a challenge that surprised the footballers, especially when the ball swerved as it came down. Well done to Theo for breaking the record,” club spokesman Pravin Patel, who handed the framed award to Walcott, said.
The official name of the record presented to the 27-year old in-form player is: Highest altitude football is dropped and controlled.
Spokesperson for Betfair Harry Phillips said: “Betfair is the home of Cash Out which gives customers the ultimate control over their bet, and so we wanted to set the Arsenal players a challenge to test just how good their control is. What better test than setting a new Guinness World Record title.”
