16-Year-Old Sets Planking Record
While overcoming disease
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Planking for one minute is hard enough, but in Boulder, Colorado, teen Gabi Ury held the grueling position for 1 hour, 20 minutes. She smashed the previous women’s record of 40 minutes set by Eva Bulzomi, all while fighting a debilitating disease known as VATER syndrome.
According to her website, Ury has had the condition since she was born. VATER syndrome is characterized by abnormalities in the vertebrae, anus, trachea, kidneys, esophagus, heart, and limbs. The syndrome has affected her mostly in her spinal cord, but that didn’t stop the teen from doing this dreaded exercise in record time.
Ury took on the challenge to raise money for the Colorado Children’s Hospital, which has helped her fight VATER syndrome with numerous surgeries. In total, she raised about $5,000, but her inspirational story has raised another $45,000 after the record was broken.
“I was definitely very happy when it was over with. It was very stressful,” she told Good Morning America.
So the next time you complain about that 30-second plank at the gym, think of Gabi.
