A Nigerian Art and Design student, Chancellor Ahaghotu, has emerged as a new Guinness World Record (GWR) holder for the longest painting marathon.

According to a statement from the Guinness World Records, the United States-based student broke the record which was set ten years ago after painting for 100 consecutive hours.

It added that Chancellor, a sophomore at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, far surpassed the previous record of 60 hours, set by Roland Palmaerts (Belgium/Canada) in 2013.

“I came to the United States to pursue my dreams and build up my career as a recognized artist,” Chancellor told GWR before embarking on his record attempt.

“Breaking the record will boost my recognition as an artist both in my school and the world at large.”

According to GWR, for this record, the challenger can either work on one large painting or create multiple ones, but the painting(s) must be of a recognizable image; abstract painting is not permissible.

Guinness World Records explained that over four days, Chancellor worked tirelessly to produce 106 pieces depicting all manner of subjects, including celebrities, food items, plants, animals, and much more.

Ahaghotu initially planned to do one painting per hour, so before beginning the record attempt he prepared 100 canvases with sketches, ready for him to paint.

However, during his paint-athon, he completed them all with a few hours to spare, so he then produced a series of impromptu still-life paintings, before finishing with a painting of an exhausted person. 

And at the 60th hour, when he surpassed the previous record, the Nigerian student painted a broken record player.

“One thing I love about the paintings I created is that they were representing my different moods and how I was feeling when I created them,” Chancellor explained.

GWR said as with all ‘longest marathon’ records, the challenger is permitted a five-minute rest break for every continuous hour of activity, these rest breaks can be accumulated if not taken.

According to GWR, they were the only times Chancellor could use the bathroom, eat, or sleep.

Chancellor said he battled fatigue around the 88-hour mark, but he was committed to reaching his target of 100 hours.

As a result, he didn’t think about calling an end to the record attempt.

"There was joy and celebration when I completed the 100 hours,” Chancellor said. “It was a new experience for me and I’m so glad I completed the 100 hours.

“This record helps me feel a very high level of personal achievement, build up my career as a reputable artist, and pay a service to my school and country.”

Last year, yet another Nigerian Hilda Baci set the world record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, after cooking for 93 hours 11 minutes. The record, however, was broken six months later by Irish chef Alan Fisher, an owner and chef of a restaurant in Japan, who cooked for a staggering 119 hours 57 minutes.