A man descended 100 stairs on his hands in 44.71 seconds and explained the one thing that could have ended with him on his head

Hari Chandra Giri, a 31-year-old athlete from Nepal, has set a new Guinness World Record by descending 100 stairs while walking on his hands. The feat took place in Yunyang, Chongqing, China on January 4, with a completion time of 44.71 seconds, covering more than two stairs per second upside down.

Giri has been serving in the Nepal Army since 2014 and applies the same disciplined mindset to his record attempts. As first highlighted by UPI, he told Guinness World Records: “I’ve always wanted to push what’s possible with hand balancing in real-world settings. Stairs are harder than flat ground because of the angle and impact.” He chose China for the attempt because of its iconic staircases, saying the goal was to show that handstand control can be precise, fast, and safe.

The risks were serious. Giri was direct: “A fall down 100 steps on your head/neck/spine could be life-threatening. That’s why I used spotters, checked every step beforehand, and stopped if my hands slipped or shoulders fatigued.” He added a clear warning: “Never attempt this without training, medical support and safety mats on landing.”

Six months of targeted preparation preceded an attempt that also came with serious logistical hurdles

Giri spent six months training specifically for the record, building up to walking over 200 metres on his hands in a single session and running drills on shorter stair sets of 50 and 75 steps to refine his landing control and shoulder stability, training on both wet and dry surfaces. His preparation also included focused wrist strength and core stability work. Amid other stories of people pushing step counts to the extreme, Giri’s approach stands out for the level of precision it demanded.

The attempt was not without logistical obstacles. A language barrier in China and internet restrictions made communicating with his team and finding the location difficult, testing his problem-solving skills under pressure as much as his physical training. He considers this his favorite record yet, saying the speed-and-control combination made it feel clean and directly linked his handstand work to real-world application.

His previous Guinness titles include the fastest time to descend 50 steps on his hands at 12.65 seconds. The fastest 10 metres walking on hands with a soccer ball between his legs at 4.49 seconds. The fastest 50 metres doing the same at 25.58 seconds. The fastest descent of 75 stairs on his hands at 25.03 seconds. The most skips on an upright tire in one minute at 120, and the fastest time to drink 500 millilitres of lemon juice in a handstand at 24 seconds.

His insistence on spotters and methodical preparation reflects the same point doctors have raised alongside viral health trend warnings: the gap between a feat looking effortless and it actually being safe is often wider than it appears. Giri said he hopes the record inspires others through discipline: “Train smart, respect the risk, and never skip the basics.”