A horticulture teacher from Minnesota set a new U.S. record Monday for the heaviest pumpkin after raising a giant gourd weighing 2,560 pounds.
Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minn., set the new record after driving the gargantuan gourd for 35 hours and seeing his hard work pay off at the 49th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay.
Gienger, who also won the same contest in Northern California in 2020, broke a record set last week in New York, where a grower raised a massive pumpkin weighing 2,554 pounds.
A grower in Italy holds the world record for the heaviest pumpkin. He grew a 2,702-pound squash in 2021, according to Guinness World Records.
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: Cindy Tobeck, a third grade teacher from Olympia, Washington, sits on her 1,671 pound pumpkin during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, on his 2,560 pound pumpkin that beat the record for biggest pumpkin grown in North America during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, celebrates after his 2,560 pound pumpkin beat the record for biggest pumpkin grown in North America during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, celebrates after his 2,560 pound pumpkin beat the record for biggest pumpkin grown in North America during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: Cindy Tobeck, a third grade teacher from Olympia, Washington, sits on her 1,671 pound pumpkin during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: People stare as a pumpkin is moved to the scale during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: Spectators watch as a pumpkin, owned by Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, is moved to the scale during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. Gienger’s pumpkin took 1st place with a weight of 2560 pounds. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: Pumpkins are moved on forklifts during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: A pumpkin is measured during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: A pumpkin is lifted onto a scale during the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, Calf., on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
