Sword Swallowing Records

Sword Swallowing World Records

Category	Record	Performer	Notes
Official Guinness World Record Most Swords Swallowed Simultaneously	52 Swords	9 Sword Swallowers	On Friday night, Sept 2, 2005 9 Sword Swallowers swallowed a total of 52 swords at the same time, breaking the previous record of 50 swords at the 2005 Sword Swallowers Convention at the Sideshow Gathering in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The SSAI Members who came together to break this record include Red Stuart (25), Natasha Veruschka (11), Dan Meyer (7), Keith Nelson (3), Travis Fessler (2), Matt Cassiere (1), Charles Knight (1), Roderick Russell (1), and John Metz (1). The SSAI World Record was certified as an official *Guinness World Record in 2007.
Official Guinness World Record Most Sword Swallowers Swallowing Swords Simultaneously	19 Sword Swallowers	19 Sword Swallowers	History was made on Friday, Aug 30, 2002 when 19 Sword Swallowers swallowed swords simultaneously at the 2002 Sword Swallowers Convention in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This record was certified as an official *Guinness World Record in 2004.
Official Guinness World Record Most Swords Swallowed Simultaneously	50 Swords	19 Sword Swallowers	History was made on Friday, Aug 30, 2002 when 19 Sword Swallowers swallowed 50 swords at the same time (breaking the previous record of 46 swords) at the 2002 Sword Swallowers Convention in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This record was certified as an official *Guinness World Record in 2004.
Unofficial Multiple Swords Men	16 swords	Lucky Ball	Lucky Ball's record of swallowing 16 swords at once was set in 1937.
Unofficial Multiple Swords Women	16 swords	Edith Clifford	"Champion Sword Swallower" Edith Clifford is said to have swallowed 16 swords at once at the turn of the century.
Unofficial Longest Multiple Swords	4 27" swords 5 30" swords	Alex Lang Capt. Don Leslie	Alex Lang held the * Guinness World Record for swallowing four 27-inch long swords at one time in the 1960s. Capt. Don Leslie swallowed his record five 30-inch long swords (1979-83). (description)
Official *Guinness World Record Multiple Swords	14 swords 13 swords 13 swords 10 swords 6 swords 5 swords	Matthew Henshaw Natasha Veruschka Count Desmond Brad Byers Amy Saunders Lady Sandra	Matty Blade ("Saint" Matthew Henshaw) of Australia holds the official men's * Guinness World Record for swallowing 14 60 cm. swords 2.6 mm thick weighing 4.5 kg at the Fremantle Busker's Festival on April 5-6, 2000 Natasha Veruschka currently holds the official women's * Guinness World Record for swallowing 13 swords at once at the 3rd Annual Sword Swallowers Convention in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Sept 3, 2004 Count Desmond held the official * Guinness World Record in 1981 for swallowing 13 swords at once on July 6th, 1980 Brad Byers held the official * Guinness World Record for swallowing 10 28" swords and turning them 180 degress on August 13, 1999 in Hollywood, CA Amy Saunders held the women's * Guinness World Record for swallowing 5 blades at one time in London in 1999. Amy later broke her own Guinness record by swallowing 6 swords on the set of El Show de los Récords, Madrid, Spain on 27 November 2001. Lady Sandra Reed held the * Guinness World Record in 1975-1977 for swallowing 5 blades at a time.
Official *Guinness World Record Multiple Swords Women	13 swords 6 swords 5 swords	Natasha Veruschka Amy Saunders Lady Sandra	Natasha Veruschka currently holds the official women's * Guinness World Record for swallowing 13 swords at once at the 3rd Annual Sword Swallowers Convention in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Sept 3, 2004 Amy Saunders held the * Guinness World Record for a woman by swallowing 5 swords in London on April 28, 1999. According to Guinness, the official Guinness record for the most 35.5-53 cm (14-21 in) swords swallowed by a female was 6 by Amy Saunders on the set of El Show de los Récords, Madrid, Spain on 27 November 2001. Lady Sandra Reed held the * Guinness World Record in 1975-1977 for swallowing 5 blades at a time.
Personal Records Multiple Swords	34 swords 25 swords 17 swords 16 swords 14 swords 14 swords 13 swords 13 swords 11 swords 10 swords 8 swords 6 swords	Red Stuart Chayne Hultgren Johnny Fox Matthew Henshaw Dai Andrews Count Desmond Natasha Veruschka John Strong Brad Byers Dan Meyer Amy Saunders	Red Stuart swallowed 25 swords measuring at least 18" long x 1/2" in width on September 3, 2005 at the 2005 SSAI Convention in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Red Stuart broke his own record by swallowing 34 swords measuring at least 18" long x 1/2" in width at the 2008 Philadelphia Tattoo Convention in the Sheraton Hotel, Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, April 19, 2008 Chayne Hultgren, the Space Cowboy swallowed 17 swords at Calder Park in Melbourne, Australia on March 28, 2008 Johnny Fox swallowed 16 swords on the Jonathan Winters' Comedy Magic Special in the 1980s Matty Blade Henshaw swallowed 14 60 cm. swords regularly from April 5, 2000 to June 2004 Dai Andrews swallows 14 swords at the same time Count Desmond swallowed 13 swords at once on July 6, 1980 for the 1981 Guinness World Record Natasha Veruschka swallowed 12 swords at the 2003 SSAI Convention and 13 swords at the 2004 SSAI Convention Natasha Veruschka and Dai Andrews each swallowed 11 swords at the 2002 SSAI Convention John Strong swallowed 11 swords at once Brad Byers swallows 10 swords regularly in his act Dan Meyer swallowed 7 swords at once on September 3, 2005 at the 2005 SSAI Convention, and 8 swords at once on January 1, 2006 Amy Saunders swallowed 5 swords in London in 1999. According to Guinness, the most 35.5-53 cm (14-21 in) swords swallowed by a female was 6 by Amy Saunders on the set of El Show de los Récords, Madrid, Spain on 27 November 2001.
Most Swords Swallowed In A Year	3782 Swords 270 shows	Matty Blade Henshaw	In 2003, Matty Blade Henshaw swallowed 14 swords in 270 shows within 365 days for a total of 3782 swords swallowed in one year.
Official *Guinness World Record Most Sword Swallowers Swallowing the Same Object Simultaneously	4 Sword Swallowers	Thomas Blackthorne (UK) Space Cowboy (Australia) Captain Frodo (Norway) Gordo Gamsby (Australia)	The official Guinness World record for the Most Sword Swallowers Swallowing the Same Object Simultaneously is four and was set when performers Thomas Blackthorne (UK), Space Cowboy (Australia), Captain Frodo (Norway) and Gordo Gamsby (Australia) swallowed the four steel legs of the same bar stool. The record was established in front of a live audience during a show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, UK, on 21 August 2007.
Official *Guinness World Record Single Sword Swallowed by the Most Sword Swallowers	33 Sword Swallowers	Thomas Blackthorne (Italy) Dai Andrews (US) Dan Meyer (US) Roderick Russell (US) Damien Blade (US) Johnny Fox (US) Ses Carny (US) Frack (US) Malakai (US) George the Giant (US) Peter Pokus (Iceland) Red Stuart (US) Lizard Man (US) Bill Berry (US) Mr. Pennygaff (US) The Great Fredini (US) Jewels (Russia/Germany) Natasha Veruschka (US) Todd Robbins (US) Tim Cridland (US) Tyler Fyre (US) Miss Behave (UK) Wasp Boy (UK) Lucky Diamond Rich (UK) Claudio Borghi (Italy) Rupert David Straitjacket (UK) Space Cowboy (Australia) Elena Sellentin (Germany) Marco Cardona (Italy) Helmut Hannibal Helmurto (Germany) Captain Frodo (Norway) Gordo Gamsby (Australia)	The sword known as The Sword of Swords has been swallowed by 33 of the world's known sword swallowers. The sword was made by Thomas Blackthorne (UK) in 1994 as a symbolic icon to link the otherwise solitary and disparate sword-swallower community. The Sword of Swords was swallowed at the first SSAI international sword swallowing convention in 2002 by Thomas Blackthorne, Dai Andrews, Roderick Russell, Dan Meyer, Damien Blade, Johnny Fox, Ses Carny, Frack, Malakai, George the Giant, Peter Pokus, Red Stewart, Lizard Man, Bill Berry, Mr. Pennygaff, The Great Fredini, Jewels, Natasha Veruschka, Todd Robbins, Tim Cridland, Tyler Fyre Also in 2002: Miss Behave, Wasp Boy. On 9/2/2003, the day he became the world's most tattooed man: Lucky Diamond Rich. Also in 2003: Claudio Borghi. In 2004: Rupert. In 2005: David Straitjacket. In 2006: Space Cowboy, Elena Sellentin, Marco Cardona, Helmut Hannibal Helmurto. In 2007: Captain Frodo, Gordo Gamsby.
Unconfirmed Longest Sword Finland	63 cm 25 inches	Yrjö Lehvonen	Yrjö Lehvonen was the best-known sword swallower in Finland, performing from around 1950 into the 1960's. In 1964 Lehvonen swallowed a 63 centimeter long sword to the hilt, which according to Kotiposti magazine was a world record at the time for Finland.
Unconfirmed Longest Sword Australia	72 cm 28.4 inches	Space Cowboy	Due to an internal deformation medically known as congenital division of the stomach, the lower half of Chayne's stomach has been replicated and sits lower than the average human stomach, allowing Chayne to swallow longer swords.
Unconfirmed Longest Sword USA	33 inches 83.82 cm	George The Giant	At 7' 4" tall, George the Giant has an advantage at length and holds the record for swallowing a 33" sword.
Official *Guinness World Record Heaviest Weighted Sword	20.1 kg	Matty Blade Henshaw	Matty Blade Henshaw is listed in the 2007 * Guinness World Record Book for swallowing the heaviest weighted sword weighing 20.1 kilograms
Unofficial World Record Heaviest Weighted Sword	22.4 kg	Chayne Hultgren	Chayne Hultgren, the Space Cowboy swallowed the unofficial heaviest weighted sword weighing 22.4 kilograms at Calder Park in Melbourne, Australia on March 28, 2008
Official *Guinness World Record Heaviest Weighted Object	38kg (83lb 12 oz)	Dewalt D25980 Demolition Jackhammer Thomas Blackthorne	The heaviest object sword-swallowed is a Dewalt D25980 demolition hammer weighing 38kg (83lb 12 oz).Thomas Blackthorne (Italy) swallowed the 25mm (1 inch) thick drill bit, then held the full weight of the hammer and bit for over 3 seconds, on the set of "Guinness World Records - Die Größten Weltrekorde", in Cologne, Germany, on 23 November 2007. The hammer was switched on.
Greatest Curve	90 degrees	Dai Andrews Brad Byers Thomas Blackthorne Dan Meyer	Fewer than 5 performers are currently swallowing swords with any curve at all, and include Brad Byers, Dai Andrews, and Dan Meyer
Unofficial Red-Hot Sword	Red-Hot Sword	Dai Andrews	Dai Andrews is currently the only performer swallowing red-hot swords heated with a torch live onstage.
Unconfirmed Youngest Swordswallower USA	12 years old 13 years old 16 years old	Jim Lucky Ball II Rick Dennis The Enigma	Jim Lucky Ball II was taught sword swallowing in 1948 at the age of 12 by his mother, Estelline Pike. Rick Dennis learned sword swallowing in 1966 at the age of 13. The Enigma learned sword swallowing at the age of 16.
Confirmed Youngest Swordswallower USA	14 years old 17 years old 18 years old	Alex Zander Morrow Erik Kloeker Brett Loudermilk	Alex Zander Morrow swallowed his first sword at the age of 14 before an audience of other sword swallowers and international media at the 2003 Sword Swallowers Convention and Sideshow Gathering. The event was captured on film on the documentary "Stomachs of Steel" that aired on The Discovery Channel. Currently, the youngest confirmed sword swallower in the US is now 18-year-old Erik Kloeker of the Pickled Brothers Sideshow in Florence KY, who is a bit younger than the next youngest US sword swallowers Brett Loudermilk (who is 4 months older at 18 years old) and Alex Zander (who is currently a few months older at 19 years old).
Unofficial Youngest Swordswallower Russia/Sweden	14 years old	Jewels	Jewels was born in Russia, started swallowing swords in Sweden at the age of 14, and moved to perform in England at the age of 17.
Unofficial Youngest Swordswallower UK	16 years old	Amy Saunders	Amy Saunders started swallowing swords in England at the age of 16.
Unofficial Youngest Swordswallower Australia	22 years old	Space Cowboy	At age 22, Chayne was reported to be the youngest working sword swallower in Australia.
Unofficial Most Years Sword Swallowing	58 years 50 years 50 years 48 years 47 years 43 years 39 years 38 years 28 years 28 years	Jim Lucky Ball II Capt. Don Leslie Lyle Tuttle Count Desmond Johnny Meah Danny Larsen Rick Dennis Red Stuart Johnny Fox Rhea Roma	Jim Lucky Ball II learned sword swallowing in 1948 at the age of 12 from his mother, Estelline Pike and his father Lucky Ball. Capt. Don Leslie learned sword swallowing in 1955-56 at the age of 16 from Carlos Leal and in 1956-57 from Alex Linton. Lyle Tuttle learned sword swallowing in 1956 from Capt. Don Leslie and in 1957 from Tony Marino. Count Desmond learned sword swallowing in 1956-57. Johnny Meah learned sword swallowing in 1957. Danny Larsen taught himself sword swallowing in 1963. Rick Dennis learned sword swallowing in 1966. Red Stuart learned sword swallowing in 1967 from Toni Del Rio. Johnny Fox learned sword swallowing in 1977. Rhea Roma learned sword swallowing from Count Desmond in 1977.
First Man To Swallow Lightbulbs	Lightbulbs	Chevalier Cliquot	According to Houdini's book "Miracle Mongers", the first man to swallow an electric lightbulb was Chevalier Cliquot. Cliquot's act included swallowing an electric light bulb connected to an 8-volt battery (1890s)
First Woman To Swallow Neon Tubes	Neon Tubes	Edna Price	According to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, the first woman to swallow a white neon tube was Edna Price (1920s) (video)
Official Sword Swallowing Jack Hammer	Jack Hammer	Thomas Blackthorne	Thomas Blackthorne swallows a running jackhammer.
Sword Swallowing While Passing Juggling Clubs	While passing clubs	Bill Berry Keith Nelson Dan Meyer	Keith Nelson and IJA silver- and gold-medalist Bill Berry passed 6 juggling clubs between them while swallowing 2 swords at the 2002 SSAI Sword Swallowers Convention in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Keith Nelson and Dan Meyer passed 6 juggling clubs between them while Dan Meyer swallowed 1 sword at the 2003 SSAI Sword Swallowers Convention in Wilkes-Barre, PA
Whip Cracking while Sword Swallowing	17 Whip Cracks	Travis Fessler	Travis Fessler of Florence, KY cracked a bull whip 17 consecutive times while swallowing a sword on September 5, 2005 at the 2005 SSAI Convention in Wilkes-Barre, PA
Sword Swallowing On Bed of Nails	While Laying on a Bed of Nails	Andrew Stanton	Andrew Stanton of Las Vegas, NV lays on his chest on a bed of nails and grabs his ankles while swallowing a sword.
Singing While Sword Swallowing	Singing	Michele White	Michele White of Victoria, Australia can sing while swallowing a sword
Longest Time for Sword Swallowing	Longest Time	Michele White	Michele White of Victoria, Australia swallowed a sword and retained it down her throat for a period of 3 minutes and :45 seconds.
Official Confirmed Sword Swallowing On Unicycle	While Jumping Rope on Unicycle	Joey Joey	Joey Joey, of New York, performs an act in which he swallows a sword, mounts his unicycle with the sword inside him, and then jumps rope all at the same time.
Sword Swallowing While Hanging Suspended Over Niagara Falls	Sword Swallowing While Suspended Over Niagara Falls	Count Desmond	Count Desmond swallowed a sword while suspended 200 feet over Niagara Falls on Friday, June 13, 1980.
Sword Swallowing While Hanging Suspended (Finland)	Sword Swallowing While Suspended (Finland)	Jari Tapanainen	Jari Tapanainen swallowed a 50 cm sword to the hilt while hanging suspended upside down for the Ennätystehdas TV program in Finland. It was filmed on 10 October 2006 and aired on 5.11.2006.
Unofficial Unconfirmed Sword Swallowing Underwater (Australia)	Underwater	Matthew Henshaw	Matty Blade of Australia claims to have swallowed a sword underwater in a private swimming pool before a few friends at a private party in North Perth Western Australia on on January 1, 2004. No photos or other verifiable proof available.
Official Confirmed Sword Swallowing Underwater In a Tank of Sharks (Australia)	Underwater in a Tank of Sharks	Chayne Hultgren	Chayne the Space Cowboy of Australia was the first person to publicly swallow a sword underwater in a tank of live sharks before the press on May 9, 2006 at Manly Ocean World Aquarium in Sydney Australia.
Official Confirmed Sword Swallowing Underwater In a Tank of Sharks and Stingrays (Western Hemisphere)	Underwater in a Tank of Sharks and Stingrays	Dan Meyer	Dan Meyer of Nashville, TN was the first person in the United States to swallow a sword while submerged underwater in a tank of live sharks and stingrays for Ripley's Believe it or Not! on May 18, 2007 at Ripley's Aquarium during Bike Week in Myrtle Beach, SC. Dan swallowed a 22-inch solid steel sword first, followed by a 30-inch solid steel sword with 24-inch long blade while submerged 15 feet underwater surrounded by more than 80 sharks and stingrays in 85,000 gallons of salt water. Ripley's Believe It or Not! officials were on hand to witness the event, along with Myrtle Beach Bike Week visitors including a visiting 3rd Grade class and numerous TV crews. The event was uplinked by satellite feed and witnessed by over 25 million viewers on over 400 TV stations around the world. The feat was featured in a Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoon on Sept 22, 2007, and included in an upcoming Ripley's Believe It or Not! book.
Sword Swallowing While Suspended From Body Hooks	While Suspended From Body Hooks	Andrew Stanton	Andrew Stanton was the first to swallow a sword while suspended by body hooks on Friday, October 17, 2003.

* Note: Due to the dangers related to swordswallowing, the Guinness Book of World Records retired the category of sword swallowing in 1980 after an American sword swallower (Count Desmond) nearly choked to death in his attempt to swallow 13 swords at once. The category was reopened periodically between 1980 and 2000; however, the 2001 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records contained no mention of sword swallowing whatsoever. As of February 2005, Guinness has again begun recognizing and certifying sword swallowing records as verified by the Sword Swallowers Association Int'l.
We are constantly seeking notification, confirmation, verification, and more detailed information to confirm all records, both unofficial personal and official records. If you have verifiable proof or additional information to collaborate, confirm or correct any records, please contact us.