A whopping 2,560-pound pumpkin has broken the North American record during a Minnesota weigh-off on Monday. The winner was crowned at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California.
The winning pumpkin belonged to horticulture teacher Travis Gienger, who said pumpkins to this size shouldn’t be possible in the Minnesota climate.
Mr Gienger said: “Minnesota has a great midyear, but our spring in our parts is really, really tough.
“So to do it in Minnesota, it just shouldn’t happen.”
He added: “It’s like winning the Tour de France on a big wheel. You know, you can only hope, but it worked.”
The horticulture instructor made the mammoth 35-hour drive from his home to contest the title.
He quipped: “You think driving in a snowstorm is bad? Try driving one of these things.”
Around 30 people entered the contest, watched by hundreds of people, a spokesperson for the event told NPR.
Mr Gienger told Minneapolis-based outlet ABC 5 that he had spent more than 200 days growing the pumpkin, with almost 30 years of experience behind him.
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The newly-crowned winner also holds the world record for the largest carved pumpkin.
The previous record-breaking gourd was declared last week in New York, weighing in at 1,554lbs.
The current world record is held by an Italian grower, who set the bar for the heaviest pumpkin in 2021.
The 2,702lb pumpkin was verified by Guinness World Records last year.