/ 18 October 2004

Just a phone’s throw away

A German has smashed the national record for the rarely contested sport of cellphone throwing by hurling his phone 67,5m, the organisers of the event announced on Monday.

In the competition in Wehnde, Thuringia, on Sunday, Nico Morawa beat the former record of 65,8m, set four years by Heiko Scholl.

Both men are from Kamenz in the eastern state of Saxony.

Morawa, who is also spokesperson for the association of German cellphone throwers, beat 70 competitors to win the event.

According to the association’s website, the ”sport” began when cellphone manufacturers were offering cheap phones during the industry’s boom years of 2000 and 2001. When the phones broke, the Kamenz association came up with a new use for them. — Sapa-AFP