In December last year, Patricia Faith Ariokot embarked on a journey to attempt the Guinness World Record for the longest time spent hugging a tree. This was part of her initiative to encourage tree planting and forest conservation under her theme – #ATremendousHug.
Ariokot had previously tried to beat the same record on December 8, 2023, but faced several challenges, including camera glitches that led her to retry the attempt.
She made another attempt on December 29, 2023, at Hotel May 7 in Soroti and surpassed the previous record of 10 hours and 5 minutes, set by Adrienne Long in September 2020.
Ariokot hugged the tree for an impressive 16 hours and 6 minutes, setting a new record that was pending review by the GWR board.
In an announcement on her social platform, Ariokot revealed that the review was successful, and she is now the current world record holder.
“It has not been an easy journey, especially as I had to make this attempt three times. At 16 hours and 6 minutes, it is official. The record is mine,” Ariokot said in a post.
She now joins the growing list of Ugandans who hold GWR titles, including Phaneroo Ministries for the longest applause, Raymond Kahuma for the largest Rolex record, and Joshua Cheptegei for being the fastest man in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.