Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wisconsin teen with spina bifida sets out to break Guinness World record for wheelchair wheelie

From The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wis.:


Even though he was born with spina bifida — a congenital defect that affects the spinal column — Michael Miller has long dreamed of getting his name in the Guinness World Records.

Now, he's almost there.

Miller, 19, of Ellington, unofficially broke the world record for longest wheelie in a wheelchair August 8 at Hortonville High School.

Awaiting verification from the London-based firm, Miller took 40 laps around the quarter-mile, track logging 10.016 miles and breaking the former record of 8.097 miles, set by Paul Stares of England in 2005.

"It was amazing," said the soft-spoken man who's already thinking about ways to break the record, which could appear in the next edition of Guinness in late November.

Despite his disability, Michael popped his first wheelie at age 4 after receiving his first wheelchair. And he never stopped.

"He'd get in so much trouble in school because he'd spend more time on wheelies, and the teachers would just run behind him because they thought he was going to tip over," his mother Karri Miller said.

Michael was about 10 when he began thinking of how he might get into the Guinness records, but over the years, multiple surgeries kept him from his goal.

A favorite uncle's death in May 2008 spurred him to make his dream of executing the longest wheelie in a wheelchair come true. Michael joined the YMCA and trained for hours on the hilly roads near his home.

With the folks at Guinness certifying the attempt, family, friends, a Hortonville police officer and notary public Chris Holso, of Appleton's Postal Express and More, watched as Michael began his attempt at 12:10 p.m. in rainy drizzle.

"Every time he did a lap everyone got up and cheered and pushed him on," Karri Miller said. "He wouldn't take any water. He was so afraid he would get distracted and he had to focus."

Three miles into the feat the sun came out and the resulting humidity caused steam to rise from the track. Although Michael struggled, he never lost his composure, Holso said.

Once Michael passed the record, he got a second rush determined to see how far he could go to keep his title out of reach. The last two laps were the hardest.

"I kept good time," Holso said. "Normally he would do 6 minutes, 20 seconds per quarter-mile. When he hit that 8.25-mile mark, his time bumped up completely by another minute."

The attempt took 3 hours and 55 minutes to complete.

"He does more on two wheels than most people can do on four," his proud mother said.