Archery enthusiast completes 24 hour Guinness World Record to raise money for Macmillan after overcoming 'aggressive' cancer

David Brown has completed a mammoth 24 hour archery challenge in a bid to break his first Guinness World Record to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

He was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma three years ago and David said it was a ‘very aggressive type of cancer’ which was found on his ear and needed two surgeries.

The world record attempt, which took place on Saturday, June 21 at Portsdown Archery Club, saw David complete the highest individual archery score at the club - and he has also managed to raise hundreds for charity.

The 57-year-old recalled how his dream of completing a world record was born as a young boy after watching the BBC 1 show, Record Breakers which was broadcast between 1972 and 2001.

This is the first time anyone has attempted to break this record with David having to secure a score of 11,175 in order to bag the crowning title of a Guinness World Record holder.

David added: “It started off great, I shot better than I had ever shot in my life, it was probably the adrenaline, and I was shooting really well and I shot right through the day and through the evening. I achieved the Guinness World Record target at 12.12pm and I shot a ten to complete the goal which was amazing.

“We had a bit of a celebration with everyone which was great and then I carried on going.”

He found his passion for archery on the Isle of Lewis back in 2018 after a local club was advertising for new members and he thought he would ‘give it a go’.

David and his wife, Paula, who was born in the city, moved back to Portsmouth 18 months ago, prompting him to join the Portsdown Club who have been ‘very supportive’ in the challenge.

David said: “It is quite overwhelming - nobody in the world has done this, not even attempted it. It has been on the Guinness website for so many years and nobody has even given it a go.

“I’m very proud of myself for what I’ve done. It took a lot of training, about eight months and some 12 hour training sessions and I had a few issues throughout training. I got a stress fracture in my right ankle so that put me out for six weeks during March. It was definitely tough going but I’m really proud.”

In total, David managed to secure a score of 13,643 and he has started the process of sending the documentation to the Guinness World Records team who will verify his attempt.

So far, the Just Giving fundraiser has managed to raise £650 and David is hoping he can reach the £1,000 mark.

For more information about the fundraiser, click here.