The natural cycle of one-upmanship in the world of marathon gaming has taken its course.

The previous 28-hour Guinness World Record for the longest time spent playing Grand Theft Auto IV has been mercilessly shattered by a new, bold champion named David Scherer from Clarksville, Tennessee – who had the stamina to go 55 hours straight in Liberty City, only pausing thrice for quick toilet breaks.

Local news channel WBIR in Knoxville, TN reported first on his trade secret.  Some of you Social Club leaderboarders might want to start hitting the gym…:

"Swimming is the best type of exercise you can get," Scherer says at hour 48, the record already broken. "It is because of swimming that I'm able to do what I'm doing right now."

Scherer, a 19 year-old student from Austin Peay State University, took on the challenge to help raise money to build a new indoor pool facility for the non-profit, parent-run competitve swim team he also coaches: the Swimming Eagles.

You can see video from David's world-record playthrough here.  For information on how to donate to David's cause, you can check out the Swimming Eagles website, or the Retro's Classic Arcade site, which hosted the epic play session.

Congrats to David from all of us here for pulling this off and for a noble cause.

Previously:
30 Hours in the City that Never Sleeps