4-time heaviest pumpkin champion falls 300 pounds short of his own world record

The 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off took place this week in Half Moon Bay, California, where giant pumpkins from across the country competed for the top prize.
Reigning champion Travis Gienger from Anoka, Minnesota, secured his fourth consecutive win.
Gienger’s biggest competition this year was himself as he aimed to break his own world record set at last year’s event. Had he surpassed that mark, he would have earned an additional $30,000, on top of the $9 per pound awarded to the winner, according to the contest’s website.
At last year’s weigh-off, Gienger set a world record. His pumpkin weighed 2,749 pounds — and that was the number to beat this year.
According to The Associated Press, he fell short of his goal by nearly 300 pounds, with his pumpkin weighing 2,471 pounds. That narrowly secured him first place, with the second-place entry just six pounds behind at 2,465 pounds.
“We had really, really tough weather and somehow, some way, I kept on working,” Gienger said, per The Associated Press. “I had to work for this one, and we got it done at the end, but it wasn’t by much.”
In addition to the cash prize, the victor receives the Pumpkin King Champions Ring, a Mel Mello Sr. Grand Champion Growers Jacket, two nights at the luxury Ritz-Carlton and a starring role in the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival and Great Pumpkin Parade.
The runners-up received $3,000 for second place, $2,500 for third, $2,000 for fourth, $1,000 each for fifth through 10th place and $200 each for 11th through 20th place.
The competition began in 1974 as a showdown between Half Moon Bay and Circleville, Ohio — both claiming to be the “Pumpkin Capital of the World.”
According to the contest’s website, Half Moon Bay won the first weigh-off by just one pound with a 132-pound pumpkin, beginning a tradition that continues today. Pumpkins now weigh well over 2,000 pounds.