AREQUIPA, Peru – At 58, former soccer player Erick Hernández will attempt to break the record for the longest time controlling the ball with just his feet from a sitting position, with a kilogram and a half of weight on each ankle.
The Havana native will attempt the feat this Saturday, August 31, at the Be Live Havana City Copacabana Hotel. According to what he told the state media Cubadebatehas been preparing since April, about 15 days after setting his last record.
“Winning this one now would mean a lot because it would show that I can do it in different modalities, despite my age,” said Hernandez.
The former footballer clarifies that he has been beating the new record for about five years. “In 2023, I reached three hours and four minutes. It is an extremely difficult and exhausting mark, which I would have to beat on Saturday.”
He also claims to be in good condition and offered details of his training. “You have to strengthen the upper and lower body muscles. In the lower body, focus on the sternocleidomastoid, trapezius, shoulders, biceps, triceps, pectorals. In short, it requires a lot of strength in the abdomen.”
For the lower body, it was necessary to work the calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and the entire lumbar area.
On April 6, Erick Hernández did it again history when in the lobby of the Copacabana Hotel he dominated the soccer ball for 12 hours, six minutes and 10 seconds, touching it only with his feet, uninterruptedly, and from a standing position.
The Cuban entered the Guinness Book of Records of the records in 2005, for touching the ball with his head 319 times in one minute. Since then, he has set several records and it seems that time does not stop him.
“I am still active at almost 60 years old, because I have had a very methodical life, maintaining a balanced diet and respecting the work-rest ratio (…) To my followers, I tell them to have a lot of faith and confidence that I will achieve this record. Thanks to them I have maintained my motivation,” Hernández stressed.
