It’s not every day that kayaking beats a Guinness World Record! On January 17th, 2026, New Jersey paddler John Scelba set a new mark for the longest duration bow stall in a kayak.

John held a bow stall for 30 minutes, 34.07 seconds, breaking the previous record of 24 minutes, 5.30 seconds set by UK’s Liam Robson in 2023.

His goal, John says, is to help promote freestyle kayaking, particularly flatwater freestyle, as an accessible way for people to get involved in the sport even when quality whitewater isn’t nearby. John spent more than a year preparing for the attempt. Early training sessions were limited by numbness in his legs, forcing him to experiment with different techniques and eventually lose 40 pounds to make longer stalls possible.

His goal on the day was simply to break the existing record, but he pushed well beyond it. « I am not sure if it was adrenaline, the music, or the support of my peers, but I was able to push past 30 minutes before my legs had enough, » John said.