American cyclist Lael Wilcox officially broke the world record for the fastest time of any woman to traverse the world after spending the last 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes biking around the globe.
Wilcox began her journey on May 26 in Chicago before traveling to 22 different countries and ending her trip right where it began on Wednesday, per The Chicago Tribune.
The Guinness Book of World Records dictates that the world record would only be valid if the cyclist travels in the same direction for at least 18,000 miles and starts and ends the trip in the exact same location, according to CNN.
Wilcox traveled 18,125 miles and rode for more than 14 hours on multiple days during her trip, defeating the previous record of 124 days and 11 hours set by Jenny Graham of Scotland in 2018, per the BBC.
Graham said after her record was broken she spent the day cheering for Wilcox and that she could not be happier to know that she was an inspiration to female athletes looking to break records.
“It’s the most amazing thing to see women out there pushing their sport the way they want to. I’m just a massive fan,” she added, per the BBC.
Although Wilcox smashed the previous world record, she said that she experienced multiple moments during her trip that would have made many rethink the decision to ride around the world.
“On day four, I was throwing up all day. It never stopped raining, and I was getting multiple punctures. I still rode 139 miles, but it was a tough one,” said Wilcox through her sponsor SRAM, per Cycling Weekly.
The cyclist also discussed some of the best moments from her trip, noting that her first day through her home state of Alaska was likely her most enjoyable because of the long daylight and childhood memories that came flooding back.
Anne-Marije Rook, North America editor at Cycling Weekly magazine, applauded Wilcox for her performance and said it must have taken a “tremendous effort” to remain active for the necessary time, explaining that Wilcox must possess all the traits needed to accomplish this feat.
“She just has such incredible physical stamina, mental toughness, and just sheer determination to go out and do these extreme efforts,” she added, per the BBC.
Wilcox wrote in an Instagram post that she “had so much fun” during this experience and felt like she “could’ve just kept riding forever” by the end of the trip, despite the difficult moments.
