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An athlete from the Northwest Territories has set two new records by hopping 66.142 metres (217 feet) on his knuckles at the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse.
Team N.W.T.’s Chris Stipdonk set a new Arctic Winter Games record and beat his own previous world record in the knuckle hop.
“It’s been, like, a journey of ups and downs, successive challenges, failures. I feel like I could write a book,” Stipdonk said on Wednesday after he learned he had officially broken the Arctic games record.
The knuckle hop is a grueling event and one of 10 events in Arctic Sports, traditional Inuit games that test athletes’ endurance, strength and pain resistance, all important aspects of living life on the land.
The game is intended to mimic the movement of a seal on ice.
Competitors must hop on their knuckles around a track taped to a gym floor while moving their feet in unison and keeping their backs flat and arms tucked closely to their sides. Any infraction will result in a competitor being stopped where they are.
Watch Chris Stipdonk of Team NWT set a new world record in knuckle hop, with a distance of 217 feet at the 2026 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse.
Stipdonk, who is originally from Fort Simpson, N.W.T., said training for the event involves a lot of pushups and core work. It also requires a high tolerance for pain.
Most athletes’ knuckles are bleeding when they finish, and volunteers must mop blood off the floor in between competitors.
“I think that it’s when you are getting tired and … you can’t hop anymore, and you’re almost like dragging your hands forward,” said Stipdonk.
The 40-year-old competitor has been chasing the elusive Arctic Winter Games record of 58 metres for years. Rodney Worl of Alaska set the record in 1988. Now Worl’s son Kyle competes in the event and is Stipdonk’s toughest competitor. Worl won silver and set a personal best Wednesday with a distance of 54.5 metres.
“Kyle and I have been chasing that for a long time. And that’s so impressive that [Rodney] held it for that long considering we know so much more about nutrition and training,” Stipdonk said. “It’s just a very different game now than it was before.”
Kyle said he called his father to tell him that his record had been broken, and they are both glad it was broken by such a deserving person.
“I feel very proud of Chris. We’ve been waiting for his moment, and we knew it was coming,” Kyle said. “This year he locked in. It was pristine form the entire time. And that just shows how amazing of an athlete he is and to persevere year after year.”
Stipdonk announced his retirement after just missing the games record in 2023. He returned to the event to compete in the 2024 games but was stopped early for an infraction. With the next Arctic Winter Games not expected to take place until 2029, Stipdonk said he knew he had to make this year’s games count.
“That put even more pressure on me because I don’t know what’s going to happen in three years,” he said. “So I really put in my best effort.”
Stipdonk was the first competitor in this year’s event, and as he began his attempt, the packed gym at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Whitehorse erupted with cheers of support.
‘You’re fighting with yourself ’
He completed over a lap of the track before collapsing on the hardwood and rolling over on his back breathing heavily. Once he was able to catch his breath, he stood up and waved to the roaring crowd.
Kyle Worl said athletes competing in the event must overcome doubts and push their bodies and minds to the limit.
“Those last 10 feet are the most challenging,” he said. “It’s not actually the physical pain of the knuckles; it’s those last few feet where you’re fighting with yourself — physical self, your mental self — and you’re riding on that energy of the audience to just go a little bit further.”
Spectators at the event said they were amazed by the competitors’ athleticism and perseverance.
“I remember I tried that when I was young, but I can only imagine now,” said Charlie Nowkawalk, who travelled all the way from Nunavik to watch the games.
“Even if it didn’t seem like they made it far, it’s still incredibly difficult,” said 11-year-old Matteo Larsson Ayiku . “Seeing people going around the gym and a bit more — it really shows how athletes like to dig deep.”
Stipdonk’s mother, Debra, travelled from Hawaii to watch him and his daughter, Lindsey, who’s also competing at the games and has won three medals in speed skating.
“It’s just so wonderful seeing everybody cheering for him,” Debra said. “I know his dad is beaming up there in the sky at him. I’m just thrilled.”
The performance of Stipdonk’s life happened in the same gym he competed in 26 years ago at his first Arctic Winter Games, when he played futsal with his father, he said.
“It’s really special,” Stipdonk said. “I’ll have some tears later by myself.”
