Tuesday morning, Roseville’s Christina Lochmiller broke a Guinness World Record after riding a Ferris wheel for 26 hours, 43 minutes and 46 seconds.
The first order of business as soon as she got off the ride was to go to sleep, but while that happened, her record was already being broken.
Disc jockeys from 104.9 Virgin Radio were in Alberta, Canada were making an attempt on the same record. The group was well aware of Lochmiller’s achievement and was set on breaking it. Robbie “The Intern” Gibson officially broke the record in 30 hours and 30 seconds.
“We didn’t plan it that way,” Gibson said in a video posted on the station’s website.
Though true intentions are a little fuzzy.
“They have known about me for a few weeks,” Lochmiller said about the radio group. “I didn’t know about them.”
It also has to be pointed out that Lochmiller and Gibson were riding in two different types of Ferris wheels. Gibson’s seat was in a gondola-style bucket, which can sit about six people and allowed him to lay down, stand up, stretch out and change views. Lochmiller was in a traditional two person seat with a lap-bar.
And if losing the record wasn’t bad enough, the group rubbed it in.
“They called me and put me on air there and asked, ‘How does it feel to be a loser and be in second place?’” laughed Lochmiller.
Even though her record was broken, Lochmiller is not bitter.
“For me, it wasn’t about how long I was going to have (the record),” She said, “It was doing something I never thought I could do and bringing awareness to the number one birth defect.”
She’s talking about congenital heart disease.
The $4,000 she raised through donations and rides on the Ferris wheel is going to the Pediatric Heart Center at UC Davis Children’s Hospital; the money will make a difference.
“A lot of the things we do and offer to patients aren’t covered by insurance,” said Barbara Goebel, a clinical nurse specialist at the hospital. Goebel added $3,500 is enough to buy a new set of equipment that allows young heart patients to be cared for at home.
“Even if we have one little baby in the Sacramento area that gets to go home because of (that piece of equipment), that’s what’s up,” said Lochmiller.
She added, “He may break my record, but he can’t break my American spirit.”
Another part of the experience that can’t be taken away, the memories she gained from the people she met.
“One of my very first riders talked about how his father passed away just a few months ago,” Lochmiller recalled. “A little girl on the Ferris wheel told me how she’s made fun of at school, because she’s different, but ‘That’s okay’ because it’s going to make her into a better person.”
While Lochmiller is not competitive about the record she is competitive about fundraising. The radio group was also riding and raising money for the Boys and Girls Club in Canada.
“I want to show them you may be able to take our record, but not our funds,” said Lochmiller. “We’re leaving donation lines open so we can more and more funds for those babies.”
To donate, text “KidHeart” to 50555, and a $5 donation will be made to the Pediatric Heart Center at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.