Pantomime horse gallops into the record book

Two runners have broken the world 100metre sprint record for a pantomime horse at the Gateshead International Stadium.

Yesterday (Wednesday 7 July) Paul Donaghy from Durham and Jared Deacon from South Tyneside shaved 0.28 seconds off the previous world record — posting a time of 13.23 seconds.

Paul ran as the horse’s head while Jared, an athletics coach, brought up the rear.

“We’re both pretty pleased, but now we’re just waiting for the certificate so we can put it up on the wall, and then it will start to feel real,” 34-year-old Jared told local press.

Jared, who won Commonwealth and European gold medals in 2002 in the 4x400m relay added: “The training was tough — we only just broke the record.”

The pair has raised over £1,000 for St Oswald’s Hospice in Gosforth, Tyne and Wear.

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