PAUL DOWNS PINT IN 3.9 SECS AND BREAKS WORLD BEER RECORD
On the 16th March, Paul Behan appeared on London's Virgin Radio Breakfast show. This was an event held by Virgin Radio to celebrate St Patricks day (although a day early). The show was broadcast from the Gravity Bar in the Storehouse section of the brewery, where the attempt to set the world record for the fastest consumed pint of Guinness took place. This was duly accomplished in a world record time of 3.9 seconds, but was considered a slow time by Paul, who claims a personal best of 1.5 seconds!
Bucks Herald Newspaper, 22nd March, 2001.......
A MAN who broke the world record for drinking a pint of Guinness in 3.9 seconds, says he has done it before in 1.5 seconds. Paul Behan (23), from Leach Road, Aylesbury, who is related to legendary Irish hell raiser and writer Brendan Behan, also said on the morning he broke the record, on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio, he had already drunk two pints of Guinness before the 8.30am slot. I was so nervous I needed a couple of pints, he said. Incredibly though Paul, who works in marketing for Nissan in Rickmansworth, Herts, says he is not a heavy drinker. I'm not a big drinker. I used to play rugby for Saracens before they became professional and maybe I picked it up there, he said.
It could also have something to do with the famous Irish drinking blood, courtesy of Brendan Behan, running in his veins. My dad's family comes from Ireland and when I was growing up I used to spend a lot of time fishing there. I probably had my first pint when I was relatively young. I really like Guinness, it's a nice pint. It always reminds me of Ireland and it tastes better in Ireland as well. Now a family man, he and partner Kelly Faulkner have a seven-month-old daughter Amy Louise and he says he does not get out so much. But his lack of practice has not hampered his drinking speed.
Originally from Watford, Paul, who has been living in Aylesbury for five months, sent an e-mail to the Virgin Radio Breakfast Show team when he heard on air that they were planning to broadcast from the Guinness Brewery in Dublin as a St Patrick's Day special. Paul claimed that he could set a world record in downing a pint of Guinness in the fastest time ever, and Chris Evans took him up on the challenge. An official Guinness World Record Adjudicator was on hand to ensure all rules were adhered to and on the Friday morning while most people were in bed he downed the pint. The Guinness Brewery in Dublin has now offered Paul lifelong membership, which means as much free Guinness as he can drink whenever he visits.