CTV News Calgary has reported:

DonnaJean Wilde set a new women’s world record for the longest plank, holding the position for five hours at the opening ceremonies of the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, on Tuesday evening. The retired teacher from Magrath, in southern Alberta, surpassed her own previous record of four hours, 30 minutes and 11 seconds, which she established in March 2024 before a crowd in her hometown.

Wilde said after her first record that she had been eager to celebrate with family and loved ones and wondered whether she could have continued longer. “I was ready to quit, I absolutely was, but I thought, ‘Could I have gone five hours if I wasn’t so excited to get off that platform and hug them?’”

The opportunity to attempt another record came after Wilde was invited to meet Kyle Case, chief executive officer of the Huntsman World Senior Games, about six months ago. They discussed an activity that could make the event’s opening ceremonies more entertaining, and Wilde took on the challenge during the sports competition.

Wilde’s record attempt was supported by several activities on stage. She had her phone with her and received encouragement from family, watched her favourite movie, “Sing,” and took in rehearsals for the evening’s performance. Singing, dancing and drumming practice during the afternoon helped the time pass, she said.

“It was so wonderful because during the afternoon, before the opening ceremonies, there was rehearsals going on, people were singing and dancing, practising drumming for the performance that night and so it was helping the time go by.”

The final 15 minutes proved the hardest. Wilde said she doubted she could reach the five-hour mark, even though she knew she had already broken her previous record. The crowd called her name and urged her to keep going.

“I didn’t think I could do it,” says Wilde. “I knew I’d broken my own record, but I did not have the strength to keep going those last 15 minutes ... but them calling my name ‘DonnaJean, DonnaJean, you can do it,’ ... meant so much to me because I wanted to see that five so bad.”

She said completing the five-hour hold was also for those who had supported her, including the people who organized the event and her children and grandchildren, who were cheering her on from home. “For everybody there, for those who worked so hard to organize everything for us, my kids and grandkids all cheering me on from home, I wanted to do it so bad and it was a great feeling.”

Wilde had not always been a planker, despite a longstanding interest in fitness. Around 2013, she broke her wrist while at the gym with her students and missed being active. One of her children suggested a plank challenge, and Wilde discovered she could still hold the position while wearing a cast.

She began planking each day before school and passed the time by reading on her phone. After her wrist healed, the habit continued: she planked while reading, listening to music and preparing lesson plans. “The years just went by and I didn’t stop; I just kept planking until I could really plank for a big chunk of time, like an hour and a half to two hours.”

Wilde also wrote a book, “From Minutes to Hours,” while holding a plank. She said she began with the ability to hold the position for just one minute and encouraged others to pursue their own goals. “You can do amazing things,” she said. “If it’s a thought and it’s a dream, there’s no holding you back, and along the way you’ll just learn from the people around you.”

She said she is finished trying to break plank records for the time being. Wilde may still pursue another fitness record: she previously fell short of a goal of 1,600 push-ups in an hour after dislocating her shoulder with two minutes remaining.