Sports
Guinness World Record Broken In Pleasantville
The Westchester Table Tennis Center hosted Eric Finkelstein as he went after a record in the sport derived from Ping-Pong.
PLEASANTVILLE, NY — A new Guinness World Record was set in Pleasantville on July 11 — for longest serve in table tennis.
Eric Finkelstein, a former competitive table tennis player, bested the former record of 14.86 meters with a serve of 51 ft 1 inches (15.57 meters) at the Westchester Table Tennis Center on Tompkins Avenue.
He heard Monday that Guinness had approved it and popped it onto their website.
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"I feel euphoric and relieved!" Finkelstein told Patch. He actually broke it three times — 15.2m, and when that was successful increased to 15.4m, and when that was successful increased to 15.57m.
He needed a whole team to measure and monitor as he went after the record, from accurate distance surveying to professional umpiring to a camera crew recording it all from three angles.
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See it happen in this segment on News 12 Westchester.
The Westchester Table Tennis Center is owned by Will Shortz, the crossword editor of the New York Times and weekend puzzle-meister for National Public Radio.
The Olympic sport of table tennis has different equipment and a faster pace than the game of Ping Pong, which is trademarked.
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