The young Leopard tortoise stunned spectators as he crossed the finish line in less than half the time as the previous record.
In fact before Bertie came along, the last tortoise to reach anywhere near was back in 1977 when Charlie set the record of 43.7 seconds.
The tortoise, who lives at the Adventure Valley theme park in Durham, was placed on a specially-built 18ft-long uphill course in front of crowds of visitors.
Despite fears he might get cold feet on the big day, Bertie, thought to be around nine-years-old, did not disappoint those who turned up to watch him rocket up the wooden track - even finishing with a victory wave as he crossed the chequered line. Marco Calzini, owner of Adventure Valley, said: ‘Bertie loves going outside for a walk, as soon as we put him down he’s off and running.
‘Visitors are always remarking how fast he is. He’s like the Usain Bolt of the tortoise world.
‘Not only has he smashed the world record, he’s obliterated it completely. I think it will stand for a long time now, without a shadow of a doubt.’ On his first attempt he managed a time of 21.47 seconds, well under Charlie’s effort at the National Tortoise Championships 37 years previously.
And then - just to show off - he went on to shave a further two seconds off his time. His keepers and officials from the Guinness Book of Records were there to keep a check on the race.
Bertie was given to the adventure park and animal farm three years ago when its owners went to live abroad. The park is always popular with visitors and it was they who first spotted his love of speed.
David Leon, of Partners Leisure, said: ‘He’d be put out for exercise and visitors would say "he can move; we didn’t realise tortoises could be that fast". That started it.’
They checked the record books and, after a training programme that saw Bertie set a personal best of 20 seconds, decided to put him to the official test which meant strict regulations, adjudicators in place and stop-watches at the ready.
The course was made to the exact specifications of the original and included a slight gradient but Bertie, putting fellow animal residents to shame, sprinted off at a cracking pace.
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