On April 5, Lithuanian Ajana Lolat was recognized by the Guiness World Records for hiking 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) – the longest distance on crutches – in 12 hours in Vilnius, Lithuania, on October 1, 2022. A student at the ISM University of Management and Economics, Ajana was born with cerebral palsy. Athletic activity has helped her not only to avoid being restricted to a wheelchair, but also eliminated her muscle pain, she said. She is overjoyed that she set a new record for Lithuania.
With her dog Mulan and her support team, she completed her challenging hike in Verkių Park last fall. Naming it the “Hike for Dreams”, Ajana wanted to prove that people with disabilities are strong, they have dreams and they fulfill them.
The goal of this walk was to unite people with and without disabilities to pursue their dreams and to spread the word about the need for canine assistants in Lithuania. She sought to raise funds in order to prepare and consolidate a system of training dog assistants for people with disabilities.
Due to a lack of funds, to achieve the record her team recorded everything themselves, so Ajana was filmed during the entire hike, two independent witnesses joined her every four hours to record her journey, many documents had to be filled out, and surveyors had to measure the route.
“I’m glad we can move forward. I congratulate my country, because this has never happened in our history, people with disabilities have never achieved a Guinness record, so I am proud to have done something nice for Lithuania”, said Ajana. She had been worried that if her application was rejected, she would have to repeat the hike, so she feels proud and relieved.
“We were very afraid, because the requirements are very complicated, the videos must be uninterrupted, witness statements are evaluated, the track is measured to the nearest millimetre, there are many requirements. Only about a third of the records are confirmed, so we were afraid that we would have to repeat the hike,” she said.
This girl, who has achieved what seems impossible at first glance, urges everyone not to postpone your dreams, just take it and do it.
“You don’t have to believe or disbelieve. When you do, all hesitation is forgotten, you just enjoy. I tend to choose what I really want to do and discover what is personally important.” Assistant dogs are not just a project for her, but her whole life, so she doesn’t regret hiking at night “or doing crazy things”, said Ajana.
She is now planning a new journey around Lithuania for spring of next year, and preparations are underway. This hike will once again aim to draw attention to the rights of people with disabilities.
