A St. Petersburg pianist known for his extreme endurance performances completed a 60-hour solo marathon, beating his previous personal record, local media reported Thursday.
Ruslan Ishdavletov began playing at midnight on Tuesday and finished at noon on Thursday.
“I don’t know how I played for 60 hours, it’s unreal,” Ishdavletov told local broadcaster 78.ru. “I made myself and my loved one a promise, and God helped me.”
Video showed the visibly exhausted musician rising from the piano and embracing it after the final notes.
Local media claimed Ishdavletov’s 60-hour performance set a world record. However, according to Guinness World Records, Romanian pianist Thurzó Zoltán holds the current record for the longest continuous piano performance at 130 hours, set in 2022.
Ishdavletov previously performed for 42.5 hours and 50 hours in 2020.
He said he was better prepared this time, avoiding food and drink the day before the start of the marathon and practicing breathing techniques to prevent the kind of panic attacks that cut short his earlier attempts.
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