Canadian achieves world record, becomes oldest man to record headstand
Written by Angie Sharma on May 13, 2022
A 75-year-old from Quebec has become the oldest man on record to successfully perform a headstand, Guinness World Records confirmed.
Tanio Helou, who goes by Tony, achieved the world record on October 16, 2021 at the age of 75 years and 33 days, according to Guinness Wednesday, which has been measuring and compiling world records since 1955.
Helou lives in the small municipality of Deux Montagnes, around 25 miles north of Montreal, where he would often walk on his hands in his younger years, after immigrating from Lebanon at age 30.
He began a concerted effort to start training and live a healthier lifestyle at 55, and once he mastered the skill of holding the inverted posture, started performing all over town.
While he doesn’t necessarily seek out attention, he doesn’t back away from it either.
“I’m not shy about performing headstands,” Helou told Guinness in an interview.
“My friends think I am very strong, and my family worries I may hurt myself but that hasn’t happened.”
He says the biggest challenge the day of the record-setting performance, was making the adjustment and executing on concrete, after rain caused a last-minute switch away from soggy grass.
