{"id":109955,"date":"2025-09-13T17:23:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T17:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record"},"modified":"2025-09-13T17:30:37","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T17:30:37","slug":"golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record","title":{"rendered":"Golf: Akanigi elated as Guinness confirms her world record"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Rwandan golfer Melissa Ishimwe Akanigi expressed delight after Guinness World Records confirmed her achievement of completing the fastest unassisted round of golf, finishing 18 holes in 52 minutes and 11 seconds.<\/p>\n

The record, set at Rwanda\u2019s SSB 18-hole course in May, required her to play without any assistance\u2014no caddy, no cart, and no support with equipment or refreshments.<\/p>\n

Guinness officially validated the record on Friday, September 12.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Times Sport, Akanigi reflected on the hard work she put into breaking the record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to carry my own bag and run the course alone. By God\u2019s grace and months of training, I did it in 52 minutes and 11 seconds. That\u2019s why it\u2019s a world record, it wasn\u2019t easy at all,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

Akanigi began preparations in December and said her journey involved training, recovering from injuries, and personal sacrifices.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreaking a world record takes a lot of dedication and passion. What started as a New Year\u2019s resolution quickly became much bigger, about my country, my community, and women and girls everywhere,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She described the achievement as a message of inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo often we wait for validation to pursue our dreams, but the truth is our dreams are valid. With discipline, confidence, and a clear purpose, you\u2019ll be surprised how far you can go,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Akanigi also expressed gratitude to the Rwandan government for its encouragement, noting that the minister of sports attended her record attempt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m deeply grateful for the government\u2019s support. But having a record alone is not enough, it requires partnerships. Records like mine prove the talent and determination already here in Rwanda. With more investment in sports infrastructure and training, especially for women, we can achieve even more on the global stage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Rwandan golfer Melissa Ishimwe Akanigi expressed delight after Guinness World Records confirmed her achievement of completing the fastest unassisted round of golf, finishing 18 holes in 52 minutes and 11 seconds. The record, set at Rwanda\u2019s SSB 18-hole course in May, required her to play without any assistance\u2014no caddy, no cart, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":109954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[5396,8057,8056,758],"class_list":["post-109955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-golf","tag-guiness-world-record","tag-melissa-ishimwe-akanigi","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nGolf: Akanigi elated as Guinness confirms her world record - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rwandan golfer Melissa Ishimwe Akanigi expressed delight after Guinness World Records confirmed her achievement of compl ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Golf: Akanigi elated as Guinness confirms her world record\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rwandan golfer Melissa Ishimwe Akanigi expressed delight after Guinness World Records confirmed her achievement of compl ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-13T17:23:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-13T17:30:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/09\/sm_1757772011.280304.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Golf: Akanigi elated as Guinness confirms her world record\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-13T17:23:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-13T17:30:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record\"},\"wordCount\":317,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/09\/sm_1757772011.280304.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Golf\",\"Guiness World Record\",\"Melissa Ishimwe Akanigi\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/golf-akanigi-elated-as-guinness-confirms-her-world-record\",\"name\":\"Golf: Akanigi elated as Guinness confirms her world record - 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