World Record

Juan Duran has quite the "Frankenfish" tale to tell, and it begins with a Kinky Beaver lure and a giant northern snakehead out on the Occoquan River in Virginia. It ends — well, who knows where, as things have become murky for the man who caught the enormous snakehead on the water by Woodbridge. Duran reeled in the fish a couple of Sundays ago where the rocks meet the mud at the edge of the Occoquan, a Potomac River tributary. He never got around to measuring his catch, except to put it on a...

The Powerball jackpot for Saturday night's drawing has climbed to $600 million, the largest in that game's history and closing in on the largest lottery jackpot of all time. Here's a look at the top 10 world record lottery jackpots. 1. $656.0 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (3 tickets from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland) 2. Estimated $600 million, Powerball, (drawing scheduled for Saturday, May 18; jackpot could grow) 3. $587.5 million, Powerball, Nov. 28, 2012 (2 tickets...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — One young contender created the world's largest sequin mosaic using 325,000 of the sparkly disks. Two other youths achieved 123 consecutive badminton passes in one minute. And 1,450 participants broke the record for the most people arm-wrestling. Such are the skills that Guinness World Records are made of in Pakistan, where thousands of young people are groomed to establish their unique feats for posterity. This month, the contestants came together in the eastern city of Lahore for the annual ...

The Powerball jackpot jumped Thursday to $550 million, a major climb less than a day after the latest drawing produced no winning ticket. The jackpot now ranks as the second largest in Powerball history and third biggest overall. Here's a look at the top 10 world record lottery jackpots. 1. $656.0 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (3 tickets from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland) 2. $587.5 million, Powerball, Nov. 28, 2012 (2 tickets from Arizona and Missouri) 3. Estimated...

Win in 200-meter freestyle is ninth career Olympic gold medal, tying record of four others

Having your very own world record is probably something you never knew you wanted. But if you think about it, who wouldn't want to be the world's best at something? The Guinness World Records site is one place to go, but they have to approve the record you are attempting to set/break. The process can take weeks, and they may reject the application. Enter the Universal Record Database , or URDB. The site, founded by Dan Rollman and Corey Henderson , first launched in November 2008.

OMAHA, July 1 -- Maybe it would be easier if Natalie Coughlin wasn't one of the most gifted and multifaceted swimmers in the world. If that were the case, she could have bounded from the pool Tuesday night after the 100-meter backstroke at the U.S. Olympic trials, embraced her newly minted world record, answered questions about her nerves and her accomplishments, and moved on to Beijing. For Coughlin, though, it is not that simple, and it probably never will be, for what she does is often overshadowed by what she doesn't.

BERLIN, Aug. 22 -- Usain Bolt's third gold medal of the world championships failed to produce a third world record because the Jamaican 400-meter relay team only managed to produce the second-fastest time in history. "It is a little bit my fault," an apologetic Bolt said. "I was a little tired. " Since the Beijing Olympics, Bolt had won five major gold medals with a world record each time. The world record streak ended in the 400 relay after he set two individual marks in Berlin.

American Randall Bal set a world record in the 50-meter backstroke, one of three to fall on the last day of a short-course swimming World Cup meet in Berlin. Paul Biedermann of Germany broke Ian Thorpe 's eight-year-old record in the 200 freestyle by finishing in 1 minute 40.83 seconds. Bal followed and broke the four-day-old record in the 50 backstroke with a time of 22.87, beating Peter Marshall by 0.03 of a second. Marshall, also from the United States, set the record of 23.05 on Wednesday in...

INDIANAPOLIS, July 9 -- There has been one swimmer, and only one, who has been able to lord over Michael Phelps, and that's a sweet old guy from Maine by the name of Ian Crocker. The now-retired Crocker, soft spoken and into his guitar, hated being Phelps's nemesis, the bad guy. But that's exactly what he became by virtue of the fact he could kick Phelps's rear, quite routinely, in one event, the 100-meter butterfly. Phelps taped Crocker's picture on his bedroom wall for motivation six years ago, after Crocker set the 100 fly world record.

At the height of her success, high jumper Blanka Vlasic had to relearn how to leap. There was really no other choice for the 29-year-old Croatian. A fragment of a bone in her left ankle broke off and embedded into her Achilles, requiring surgery to shave part of the tendon on her takeoff foot. That was 16 months ago. Since then, she contracted a serious bacterial infection in her foot, missed the London Olympics where she would've been a favorite and spent many a grueling...

DOHA, Qatar — The season-opening Diamond League meet has the feel of a victory parade for stars of the London Olympics. There will be 29 medalists from London taking part Friday in what is considered the traditional start to a season that culminates this year with the world championship in Moscow. Allyson Felix, who won three golds in London, and David Rudisha, won broke the world record in winning gold in the 800, are the big names alongside a lineup that is dominated...

NEW YORK — Tyson Gay frets that he's cheating himself. He always ran all out at practice in the belief that pushing his body in workouts would make races seem easy. That's how the sprinter became a triple world champion in 2007 and later set the American record in the 100 meters. But after several years of being hampered by injuries, Gay knows he needs to hold back if he wants to stay healthy — even if he sometimes sounds as though he has a hard time changing...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — One young contender created the world's largest sequin mosaic using 325,000 of the sparkly disks. Two other youths achieved 123 consecutive badminton passes in one minute. And 1,450 participants broke the record for the most people arm-wrestling. Such are the skills that Guinness World Records are made of in Pakistan, where thousands of young people are groomed to establish their unique feats for posterity. This month, the contestants came together in the eastern city of...

Former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mark Duper is facing charges he beat up his 17-year-old son during a series of fights at their Jacksonville, Fla., home. Jacksonville police say the 54-year-old Duper, following his arrest Wednesday, spent the night in jail before posting a $5,000 bail and being released Thursday afternoon. Police say Duper attacked his son, Marcus , three times Wednesday night, twice knocking him out. Former Dolphins defensive...

Kids from around the world stepped up to help National Geographic Kids set two Guinness World Records. The magazine announced Tuesday that it set records for most people to run or walk 100 meters in 24 hours and for the most shoes collected for recycling . National Geographic Kids collected 16,407 shoes, which were displayed at its Washington offices. Guinness World Records' Mike Janela , who counted the shoes, called the effort "officially amazing. " The athletic shoes — including donations from singer Taylor...

ROME, July 30 ¿ For years Ryan Lochte has competed in many of the same events as Michael Phelps, and, not surprisingly, he could fill his closets with all of the second places he has earned. So when Phelps took a break from two of his signature events this summer, the 200-meter individual medley and the 400 medley, Lochte landed something of an opportunity. Finally, Lochte had his chance to dominate. Before Thursday's final of the 200 IM, it felt a bit like a golf major without Tiger Woods.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chilly weather and a flat course could encourage Kenya's Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru to make a world record attempt in Sunday's Chicago marathon. Those vying for $450,000 in prize money are led by Wanjiru, who smiled when asked about breaking Haile Gebrselassie's record of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 59 seconds set in Berlin in 2008. "I think I can run a 2:04 or 2:05 but it depends on the weather," Wanjiru told a news conference on Friday. "Everybody is in the same conditions," said...