Carlos rows into the record books

Otago Daily Times

13-06-2025

Queenstown's Carlos Bagrie can now add Guinness World Record-holder to his list of achievements.
Bagrie, 39, who co-owns Royalburn Station with his wife, Nadia Lim, was one of 12 people who pulled up 1million metres on an indoor rowing machine at London's Paddington Station last Friday night (New Zealand time), in 59 hours, 16 minutes and 51 seconds, beating the previous world record by about 2hrs 40mins.
Simultaneously, they've raised about £80,000 — $NZ178,500 — to help run an exercise programme for children undergoing cancer treatment at Southampton Children's Hospital (SCH).
Working in shifts, each person spent a minute rowing, with five minutes of "recovery" for six hours at a time — ultimately, Bagrie's team completed five such shifts.
He tells Mountain Scene the 'Thanks a Million Challenge' was "without a doubt the hardest thing I've ever done, physically", having had about five hours' sleep over the duration, and burning through 30,000 calories.
"I think it was the fourth set I was starting to pass out, so I was on these sugar shot things — they tasted bloody awful if I'm being honest with you.
"I would definitely say I'm a kilo or two lighter today; how long that stays off for is anybody's guess," he laughs.
Their technique around the transitions, in particular, was assisted by some expert advice from retired rower Sir Steven Redgrave — a five-time Olympic gold medallist, three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and nine-time World Rowing Championship gold medallist.
The fundraising challenge was dreamed up by Bagrie's long-time mate, Gihan Ganesh, an anaesthetist at SCH, as a way to positively contribute to SCH's Piam Brown ward, where his daughter, Lola, now 4, was diagnosed and treated for a rare, advanced and complex pelvic tumour, which had metastasized, when she was a 1-year-old.
The new collaboration between the ward and Momentum in Fitness Charity will deliver targeted exercise therapy for all paediatric oncology patients — Bagrie says it's a "wonderful thing" to support.
"It was a lovely way to close that chapter of that book. That story was a pretty arduous one.
"I think Gihan, by creating this event, raising some funds [and] some awareness, he turned what was an incredibly negative experience into a very positive one."
Noting he's "just a farmer living up on the terrace", Bagrie hasn't ruled out fronting for another physical challenge.
"I wouldn't close the door on doing something else — the right event for the right reason.
"It was a bloody good excuse to get into shape and get fit."