NAPLES — The confident words came with a confident smile as Ryan Martin prepared to make his attempt at a world record Friday night.
“I get it,” he said. “I get it.”
And there was still room for improvement. Martin, a former basketball star and now coach of the Lake Region boys’ team, set a Guinness World Record for most three-pointers made in an hour, sinking 1,134 shots, surpassing the previous record of 1,077 set by Daniel Loriaux in June 2012.
The record came at a physical cost. When the hour was up, Martin sprinted outside and then sat down on the wet grass next to the parking lot. Moments later, he dove into an ice bath to relieve his exhausted body.
But he was proud of this achievement. And proud of what it said.
“I think I’ve always had a certain amount of ambition in basketball my whole life,” he said. “That’s what drives me to do something like this and to do something to get my name out there. I’m an ambitious person and this was a big challenge for me.”
Martin’s friends formed his support team during the attempt – four rotating rebounders plus two others who filled the rack and brought him his next ball – and his parents, sister and brother-in-law were among the fans who filled half of the two stands (the other half of the field was cleared to avoid distractions).
“It’s been a joy. It’s been so much fun, most of my best friends are here and have helped me with this,” he said. “I’ve gotten so many texts in the last two weeks. It’s pretty cool, I didn’t think it would get this big. But it’s been a really cool thing.”
Martin, who won Mr. Maine Basketball in 2008 at Maranacook before playing for UMaine, Keene State College and as a professional in Canada, made 1,408 shots and was 80.5 percent accurate, including 36 in a row at one point, the record-breaking shot he made with 4:01 left in the game.
He had the entire attempt recorded and now has to wait for the Guinness Book of Records officials to verify it and officially crown him.
“I think it’s going to take 12 weeks for them to accept it, but I’m not in a rush,” he said. “I’m not going to pay the $800 to get it faster, so I’m going to wait and hope it gets accepted. But if it doesn’t, I know I have it, and that’s the most important thing for me.”
Martin came in with a plan and a pace: 21 hits per minute for the first 10 minutes, followed by 20 for the next 10, then 19, 17, 16 and 15 for the final 10. His friend Nick Beauchesne kept the pace, reminding Martin where he was every minute and getting the crowd cheering every 100 hits.
“I enjoyed the shock and awe of everyone else in the building because I knew what he was capable of,” Beauchesne said. “I wasn’t overwhelmed by it because Ryan kind of normalized the unbelievable on the basketball court. But the energy here and just being able to be on the court with him was one of the cooler things I’ve gotten to do in a long time.”
Martin knew his ability wouldn’t matter – just the day before, he said, he’d made 100 three-pointers and 95. The question was endurance. He’d learned that when he did a practice run two weeks earlier and got cramps in both legs after just 23 minutes. He made an adjustment, putting dynamic tape around both calves to take the pressure off the muscles, but he knew his body still had a fight ahead of it.
“It’s just a tough fight,” he said, “but you can’t give up when there are so many people here. It was tough, but it’s more of a mental game than anything else.”
Martin had the record under pressure from the start. He made 24 three-pointers in the first minute, 20 in the second, 25 in the third and 29 in the fourth, putting him 14 three-pointers ahead of his pace. He continued to pull away, and was 24 three-pointers ahead of his pace in the 10th minute, 39 three-pointers after 19 minutes, 43 three-pointers after 31 minutes and 54 three-pointers after 41 minutes.
“He’s the best shooter in Maine and one of the best shooters in the entire world,” said Ryan Baillargeon, a childhood friend who was one of his rebounders. “I had no doubt he was going to crush it.”
He made his 539th three-pointer, putting him halfway to the record with 35:18 left in the game. The closer he got, the less the fans needed to cheer. The volume increased with each shot, and when he got within 20 shots, they began to stomp their feet in anticipation.
Finally, during the countdown to Beauchesne, the number 1,078 burst through the net and the crowd reacted with the loudest cheer of the evening.
Fans cheer as Ryan Martin breaks the Guinness World Record for the number of 3-point baskets made in one hour. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
“(That’s) when I was more relaxed,” he said. “It was great to see 1,078 finish and to know that at that point there was only the finish line and I made everyone in the gym happy.”
After an hour, Martin left, but came back, hugged fans and posed for photos with a smile that never left him – even if it was more of a grimace after 1,408 shots.
“I can’t really explain what a difficult challenge this is,” he said. “But I love facing challenges like this and it feels good to overcome them.”
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