Farmer completes 750,000 press-ups for charity

Richard Longthorp, an East Yorkshire pig farmer, led a group of volunteers in completing more than 750,000 press-ups during January to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK and England Boxing.

The challenge, which involved Mr Longthorp, members of St Paul’s Boxing Academy in Hull, Goole Amateur Boxing Club, local gyms, and members of the public, has raised about £19,000, with donations still coming in.

The effort ended in a 24-hour press-up marathon at St Paul’s Boxing Academy, where Mr Longthorp, 71 and diagnosed with Parkinson’s eight years ago, completed 10,000 press-ups without a break from midday on Saturday, 1 February, to midday on Sunday, 2 February.

See also: Pig farmer aims for one million press-ups for charity

The funds will be divided among the charities to support boxing training for people with Parkinson’s, as boxing is known to slow the progression of the disease and improve strength and co-ordination.

Despite falling short of the overall target of one million press-ups, Mr Longthorp expressed no disappointment.

He said: “With this challenge, the main aims were to inspire people to get involved, to get them doing some exercise that they perhaps wouldn’t have otherwise done, to prove to themselves what they can achieve, and through that, raise awareness of Parkinson’s and the benefits of boxing.”

Mr Longthorp added: “This is what was important to me, far more so than achieving the one million press-up target.”

He began boxing at St Paul’s Boxing Academy in 2022 to manage his Parkinson’s.

Last year, he raised £22,000 by completing 1,000 press-ups a day throughout January to fund similar training.

He said this year’s challenge left him “mentally and physically exhausted,” acknowledging that his age and condition had made the task harder.

David Garness, chairman of St Paul’s Boxing Academy, hailed Mr Longthorp’s achievements, calling his spirit “beyond inspirational”.

He said: “If Richard can complete a challenge like this, in his 70s and suffering from Parkinson’s, what can you achieve? Anything you put your mind to.”

Mike Bromby, head coach at St Paul’s, echoed the sentiment: “What a phenomenal achievement.”

Anyone wanting to donate can still do so by visiting gofund.me/bf06d862