A colossal pumpkin rivaling the weight of a hippopotamus has been crowned the heaviest in the world.
Travis Gienger emerged as the undisputed champion, bagging the coveted $30,000 top prize at the 50th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off held in Half Moon Bay, California.
His behemoth gourd tipped the scales at a staggering 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms), earning him the title and the admiration of all present.
Wearing an orange shirt, Gienger jubilantly punched the air, embracing fellow enthusiasts after the momentous weigh-in. The 43-year-old, a landscape and horticulture teacher, with nearly three decades of experience in cultivating pumpkins, expressed his exhilaration, saying, “I was not expecting that. It was quite the feeling.”
The competition, held in California, brought together growers of mammoth-sized pumpkins from all corners of North America. Gienger, hailing from Minnesota, outshone his nearest competitor by a significant margin of 250 pounds to secure his place in the record books.
Gienger meticulously cultivates his gargantuan gourds in his backyard pumpkin patch. This year, he opted to provide his plants with exceptional care, ensuring they were watered up to a dozen times a day and received increased feeding and fertilization.
The world champion pumpkin will be prominently displayed in Half Moon Bay during the upcoming Art and Pumpkin Festival, hosted by the town, adding a grand spectacle to the festivities.
As the United States revels in its autumn celebrations, pumpkins of all shapes and sizes grace the shelves of stores across the nation.
Some will be artistically carved into eerie Halloween designs for the October 31st celebration, while others will find their way into delectable pies or serve as side dishes at dinners. Gienger’s prodigious pumpkin alone could yield no less than 687 pies.
This remarkable triumph eclipses the previous world record set by an Italian grower in 2021, who presented a squash weighing 2,702 pounds (1,226 kilograms), as documented by Guinness World Records.
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