Giant aerobics class breaks record

Punching their arms into the air in a synchronised one-two motion, nearly 47,000 Thais - including the prime minister - performed aerobics in a world record-breaking workout today.

Organisers said 46,824 people of all ages braved a downpour to attend the aerobics session in a large public park in the Thai capital, Bangkok. Instructors standing on raised platforms between the rows of exercisers led the class, with Bangkok’s majestic Grand Palace serving as a backdrop.

“We’re not scared. We’re strong. We’re fit,” chanted a group of schoolgirls, shivering from the chilly dampness from the rare, late-November rain.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who also went through the routine, later announced that the event had broken a record in the Largest Aerobics Gymnastic Display category of the Guinness Book of World Records.

Officials from Thailand Records, a group which charts record-breaking events in the country, were present to assist in the headcount. The previous record was set by 38,633 people in June 1998 in Guadalajara, Mexico, said the group which would forward the results to the London-based Guinness World Records office.

The Public Health Ministry organised the Power of Exercise Health Festival to highlight the need for healthy diets and physical activity in preventing disease.

Exercising next to the prime minister were Thai tennis star Paradorn Srichaphan, ranked no. 16 on the international tennis circuit, and Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan.