The record-breaking mission to complete twenty-four triathlons in seven days

The atmosphere at Castle Leisure Centre in Bury is abuzz as local man Bartek Holda is on course to break the Guinness World Record for the most triathlons completed in seven days.

In doing so, the 50-year-old hopes to raise money and awareness for a debilitating disease his daughter suffers from. The world record currently stands at twenty-two triathlons, and Bartek is on track to complete twenty-four by 6pm tomorrow (4 October), smashing the existing record.

Members of the public and Bartek’s family have been standing by as witnesses and gathering evidence for the record attempt, which will have to be separately certified by Guinness.

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Bartek initially intended to complete the world record solely to raise awareness for a disease suffered by his daughter, Dominika, aged 27, called Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). HS is a debilitating and long-term skin condition that is thought to affect around 1 in 100 people, mostly women.

The disease, which has unknown causes and no known cure, leaves sufferers with painful skin lumps across their body. Despite having been affected by HS for most of her life, Dominika has built a successful career for herself in legal recruitment.

Just the day before he was set to begin his attempt, Bartek agreed to raise money for the cause as well. The money raised will be donated to a charity dedicated to supporting and advancing treatment options for those with HS.

Kamila, Bartek’s other daughter, said: “My dad is very humble, and was very reluctant to set up the fundraising page, but we managed to convince him to do so at the last minute. We have raised more than four times our initial target of £500 so far.”

In a statement on his GoFundMe page, Bartek said: “As a parent, watching my daughter suffer has been absolutely devastating. The feeling of being unable to help your child, knowing that no matter what you do, you cannot take away their pain, is heartbreaking.”

Kamila added: “Dominika was diagnosed with HS when she was 12, so my dad has seen all the tears and pain affecting her for the last fifteen years.

“He’s a physiotherapist himself, and he’s really committed to raising awareness for invisible diseases like HS, which affect people who might have a completely happy façade but suffer from a lot of pain behind the scenes.”

Bartek is carrying out his world record attempt at Castle Leisure Centre in Bury town centre. The centre has reserved a lane in the swimming pool over the week to allow Bartek to complete the swum portion of his record attempt, which is sixty lengths of the pool for each triathlon.

Bartek is completing Olympic-distance triathlons, which begin with a 1,500m swim, then a 40km cycle, and finally a 10km run. Since Saturday, Bartek has been starting at 7am and continuing until as late as 9pm every day to stay on schedule to break the record.

Bartek added: “This physical challenge is nothing compared to the strength [my daughter] has shown over the 14 years since her diagnosis.”