Anthony RoblesWrestling champ who won the 125-pound title at the 2011 NCAAs. ESPN commentator. Successful motivational speaker. Winner of two ESPY awards. About to appear in a movie version of his popular memoir "Unstoppable."
Anthony Robles' resume includes all these accomplishments … despite being born with only one leg. Now the 30-year-old former Arizona State mat champ seeks to add yet another item to his bucket list: setting a new world record for pull-ups during halftime of an NFL game this Sunday.
The Guinness Book of World Records lists the existing record as 61 pull-ups in one minute. Robles seeks to break that record at the intermission of the New York Jets-Buffalo Bills football game on Sunday, Nov. 11.
Why is Anthony Robles on a vision quest to break the record for pull-ups? According to Sports Illustrated, it's the movie "Vision Quest."
"In this pursuit, Robles has been reminded of, and inspired by, his favorite movie. In the 1985 classic Vision Quest, a high school wrestler named Louden Swain (played by Matthew Modine, two years before 'Full Metal Jacket') rashly decides to drop two weight classes to take on defending state champion Brian Shute. 'Last week I turned 18,' declares Swain at one point. 'I wasn't ready for it.'"
This summer, Robles turned the Big Three-Oh. He jokingly told Sports Illustrated "I wasn't ready for it."
The Sports Illustrated feature goes on to tell more of Robles' inspiring story as a wrestler … and his quest to set a new pull-up record. And it describes the current record holder in Shute-like terms.
The Jets-Bills battle will be this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS. No guarantee as to whether Anthony Robles' quest to earn a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for pull-ups at halftime will be a part of CBS' TV coverage.
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