Instead of pulling teeth, Egyptian wrestler Ashraf Mahrous pulled with his teeth to break a Guinness World Record on Thursday, March 13.
The wrestler, nicknamed “Kabonga,” was recognized by Guinness World Records for breaking records in three different categories, with one of them being the “heaviest train pull using only his teeth,” according to The Associated Press.
The other two were for “the heaviest locomotive pull” along with “the fastest 100-meter road vehicle pull,” per AP.
In a video posted by Africa News, Mahrous is shown with a strap between his teeth that connects him to a locomotive on tracks in Cairo, Egypt.
Surrounded by a cheering crowd, the video shows Mahrous as he walks backward and pulls the 279-ton train for 10 meters.
The wrestler is then shown talking to a crowd around him about the two records he set that day, along with the first one he set the day before.
“Yesterday I broke the record of pulling a car weighing 2 tons,” Mahrous states in the video. “I ran with it for 107 meters in an unbroken record time of 37 seconds.”
The video ends by showing the wrestler pulling the same train he pulled with his teeth, but this time with straps around his shoulders to set the record for heaviest locomotive pull.
According to AP, Dawlet Elnakeb, an organizer of Mahrous' performance, emphasized the wrestler’s “abnormal strength” as he pointed out that Mahrous only had 20 days of irregular training prior to the event.
Additionally, this isn’t the only time Mahrous has shown his strength and record-breaking talent.
In June 2021, Mahrous was recognized by the international franchise for pulling a 15,730-kilogram truck with his teeth and again in February 2024 for cracking and eating 11 raw eggs in 30 seconds, according to AP.
What was the last world record for pulling a train with teeth?
According to Guinness World Records, the last record for pulling a train with only teeth was set in 2003 by Vulu Rathkrishnan in Malaysia.
He pulled a 260.8-ton commuter train for 4.2 meters.
Mahrous broke this record by about 19 tons and almost 6 meters.