thedrifter
05-17-09, 09:09 AM
For Marine, records are made to be broken
STAMFORD
By LAUREN MYLO
Hour Staff Writer
One hundred and forty-eight consecutive two-finger pull-ups may just mean another world record for a former Marine.
At least, that was the hope when Alan Sharkany, Jr., 45, set out to do as many of the exercises in an hour Saturday, Armed Forces Day, in a fundraiser for the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund at Tommy K Vitamins on Research Drive.
"Half-way through his fingers opened up . . . but he kept going like a true Marine," said Robert Daly, owner of Tommy K Vitamins. Daly has worked with Sharkany in awareness and fundraising events before such as the Toys for Tots last year in conjunction with the WWE. Sharkany has been training at Tommy K Vitamins once a week for the last three weeks, and approximately 10 Marine recruits gathered early Saturday to speak with Sharkany and give their support.
If accepted by the record books -- there currently is no number to beat -- the 148 two-finger pull-ups would be Sharkany's second world record. He has already notched the highest number of regular pull-ups -- 2,101 -- in 24 hours for the heavyweight class at 224 pounds.
He also completed 341 pull-ups in one-hour at a charity event in Denver in 2003, and in 2006, he completed 1,872 in 10 hours at Calasanz Physical Arts in Norwalk.
Sharkany, now 225 pounds, served six years in the Marines and achieved the rank of Lance Corporal. He lives in New Haven.
"As a former Marine, I always look for a challenge and will do what it takes to achieve my goals," he said in a press release. "In the Corps, Marines always take care of their own, and that is exactly what I am trying to do."
Ellie
STAMFORD
By LAUREN MYLO
Hour Staff Writer
One hundred and forty-eight consecutive two-finger pull-ups may just mean another world record for a former Marine.
At least, that was the hope when Alan Sharkany, Jr., 45, set out to do as many of the exercises in an hour Saturday, Armed Forces Day, in a fundraiser for the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund at Tommy K Vitamins on Research Drive.
"Half-way through his fingers opened up . . . but he kept going like a true Marine," said Robert Daly, owner of Tommy K Vitamins. Daly has worked with Sharkany in awareness and fundraising events before such as the Toys for Tots last year in conjunction with the WWE. Sharkany has been training at Tommy K Vitamins once a week for the last three weeks, and approximately 10 Marine recruits gathered early Saturday to speak with Sharkany and give their support.
If accepted by the record books -- there currently is no number to beat -- the 148 two-finger pull-ups would be Sharkany's second world record. He has already notched the highest number of regular pull-ups -- 2,101 -- in 24 hours for the heavyweight class at 224 pounds.
He also completed 341 pull-ups in one-hour at a charity event in Denver in 2003, and in 2006, he completed 1,872 in 10 hours at Calasanz Physical Arts in Norwalk.
Sharkany, now 225 pounds, served six years in the Marines and achieved the rank of Lance Corporal. He lives in New Haven.
"As a former Marine, I always look for a challenge and will do what it takes to achieve my goals," he said in a press release. "In the Corps, Marines always take care of their own, and that is exactly what I am trying to do."
Ellie