An educator from Anoka, Minnesota, is getting tons of attention for his giant prize-winning pumpkin.
The horticulture teacher is still the reigning champion of the contest that took place in Half Moon Bay, California, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The outlet noted Travis Gienger has won the grand prize for the past four years. In 2022, Breitbart News reported he set the U.S. record with a 2,560-pound pumpkin.
At the time, he said of the growing process, “Minnesota has a great midyear, but our spring in our parts is really, really tough. So to do it in Minnesota, it just shouldn’t happen. It’s like winning the Tour de France on a big wheel. You know, you can only hope, but it worked.”
This year, Gienger won the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off with his gourd weighing 2,471 pounds. In 2023, another of his pumpkins weighed 2,749 pounds.
An image shows the teacher with his prize-wining pumpkin:
In a video clip following his victory, the teacher said it took over 30 hours to transport the pumpkin from Minnesota to California:
Gienger explained that he spent a lot of time fostering the pumpkin’s growth, but a cooler fall with lots of rain may have affected it.
“We had really, really tough weather and somehow, some way, I kept on working. I had to work for this one, and we got it done at the end, but it wasn’t by much,” he explained.
Another pumpkin grower who participated in the recent competition used seeds from Gienger’s world record setting pumpkin in 2023 to grow his own giant gourd, ABC 7 reported on Monday:
A woman who attended the event said, “I’ve never seen them in person and one after another. There are so many, I can’t believe it,” adding, “I just think it’s amazing.”
According to Gienger, his massive pumpkin will now be transported to the southern part of California where professional carvers will create a 3D carve on it to celebrate Halloween.
