Sidelined MTU Student-Athlete Sets Guinness World Record on Crutches
![A runner in a Michigan Tech Jersey stands with hands on her hips. She just set a world record for crutch-running.](/stories/2023/04/images/this-world-record-merklein-right-banner-banner1024.jpg)
Guinness World Record holder is not a title Michigan Tech cross country and track and field student-athlete Ella Merklein thought she would have — especially just a few months after a season-ending injury early in her first collegiate outdoor track season.
On the morning of Thursday, March 23, it became official. Merklein, a biomedical engineering major, holds the world record in the “Fastest mile on crutches (one leg) – female” category.
Learn more about her journey and how her MTU family cheered her on every step of the way at Stories From Husky Nation.