Ghanaian makeup artist and Guinness World Record holder, Roselyn Akosua Mantey, has opened up about the harsh conditions she endured during her Guinness World Record (GWR) makeup marathon attempt.
In an interview on MX24 on March 3, 2026, she explained that the prolonged hours of work took a serious toll on her body and mind, especially during the night sessions.
“At night, it felt like I was in a witch camp. I still had to do the job. My assistant fainted, I got poisoned along the line because of the water and drinks I was taking in between, it was very challenging,” she disclosed.
Roselyn further revealed that exhaustion at some point affected her vision and concentration, but she was determined to press on in line with the strict guidelines governing the challenge.
“At a point, I was hallucinating, and I didn’t see anything. The rules tell you that even if you’re tired or you want to sip water, one hand shouldn’t stop working. I would be using one hand to sip water, and the other hand was working. At a point, I couldn’t see,” she recounted.
According to her, the attempt was undertaken at a time when public interest in marathon-style record attempts had waned due to earlier disappointments.
“At that point, where Ghanaians were not interested in the marathon because there was so much disappointment coming here and there, so mine was just a few circles. I’m happy, the outcome was awesome, and I made it,” she added.
Despite the difficulties, Roselyn said she is proud of the outcome, describing the achievement as a significant milestone in her career.
Celebrity Chef Hilda Baci reached a culinary milestone by preparing the biggest pot of jollof rice in a Guinness World Record attempt.
According to Reports by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), she completed the exercise on Saturday, September 13, cooking about 200 bags of rice in a 22,619-litre pot, measuring six metres wide and six metres tall, in about nine hours.
Reacting to this, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the effort was another demonstration of Nigeria’s global excellence.
He gave the commendation through Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, the Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, at the event venue.
“We encourage more young Nigerians to channel their creativity and talents into ventures that will not only benefit them personally but also contribute to national development and global recognition,” he said.
Adding that her record attempt would inspire a new generation and creatives.
In 2023, the Guinness World Record (GWR) committee said on social media that the Nigerian Chef has been officially recognised as the new record holder for the longest cooking marathon.
Nearly a month after the GWR had looked through the four-day cookathon’s video, the record had been established.
An adjudicator who only went by the name Mark made the announcement in a video uploaded on the official Twitter account of the Guiness World Records on Tuesday. “I can now announce that with a time of 93 hours and 11 minutes, Hilda Baci is the new holder for the Guiness world Records title of the longest cooking marathon,” he said.
The 26-year-old cooked in a makeshift kitchen for four days, starting on Thursday, May 11, and finishing on Monday, May 15, producing almost 100 pots of food, GWR said on its website.
“When I found out, I cried, prayed and screamed,” Bassey told CNN after learning of her record-breaking feat.
“Then I called my mum and we cried some more. I am so happy. Everything and all the hard work was worth it. I said I wanted to be a record holder and now I am. This is for all my team members and for all the hard work,” Bassey added.
Although Bassey cooked for 100 hours, she was penalized for an error in her scheduled rest breaks, according to the world record committee.
“There was a miscalculation when it came to Hilda’s rest breaks, meaning we are unable to award the 100 hours claimed,” the adjudicator said.
The longest cookathon title was previously held by Indian chef Lata Tondon, who cooked for 87 hours and 45 minutes in 2019.
Basey’s record attempt made her star and was so popular that it crashed the GWR site for two days, “due to the immense volume of traffic we received from her legion of loyal fans,” the organization said.
“I also want to thank Nigerians. They are so awesome. The support was so great. We really did something amazing,” Bassey said.
Afua Asantewaa Owusu Aduonum, the Ghanaian women’s rights advocate, journalist, and event organizer, on Friday concluded her captivating singing marathon Guinness World Record attempt after an impressive 126 hours and 52 minutes.
In a Facebook post on December 30, Mr Ablakwa noted that he is excited a courageous woman would step up to break a world record and in so doing, unite Ghanaians.
He wrote: “It’s such a great feeling when a fellow Ghanaian breaks a world record and sets her own record in the process — more so, when it’s a feat achieved by an exceptionally courageous woman from a relatively small country of 32 million people, breaking the Guiness World Record set by Sunil Waghmare, a man from a mighty 1.4billion populated India.
“The patriotic and unifying support from all Ghanaians regardless of artificial strictures must be highly commended. That is testament that when we come together, we are unstoppable and unbreakable.
“I wish Afua Asantewaa a successful reign — may she bring more glory to herself and our dear nation, and become an ambassador of great renown.”
While the verification process from Guinness World Record judges is still pending, Ghanaians are anxiously awaiting the official statement.
The suspense intensified when a Ghanaian named Abrantie Kwasi Gyamfi tagged the awarding body in a Facebook post, prompting them that Ghana is ready to join the ranks.
In response, Guinness World Records conveyed:
“Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are aware of Afua Aduonum’s feat, and we eagerly await the evidence to officially crown her as the world’s new individual singing marathon champion.”
“Hi Abrantie, we look forward to receiving evidence, this event certainly seems to have captured the public’s imagination.”
Below is Ablakwa’s congratulatory message.
Even though my attention has been focused on supervising the rapid construction of resettlement homes for my beloved displaced constituents, I wish to take a moment to congratulate the inspirational Afua Asantewaa Aduonum on her historic sing-a-thon journey.
It’s such a great feeling when a fellow Ghanaian breaks a world record and sets her own record in the process — more so, when it’s a feat achieved by an exceptionally courageous woman from a relatively small country of 32 million people, breaking the Guiness World Record set by Sunil Waghmare, a man from a mighty 1.4billion populated India.
The patriotic and unifying support from all Ghanaians regardless of artificial strictures must be highly commended. That is testament that when we come together, we are unstoppable and unbreakable.
I wish Afua Asantewaa a successful reign; may she bring more glory to herself and our dear nation, and become an ambassador of great renown.
