Speedrunning events like Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick are a great way for runners to build their profile and show off the games that they specialize in. Given how competitive many of these games are and the pressure that the event brings, it's relatively rare for a runner to actually set a world record at a marathon. However, that's exactly what happened to a certain Sonic The Hedgehog speedrunner on Monday.
The Sonic runner FlyingFox set a new world record in the original Sonic the Hedgehog during the "Sonic block" on Monday. The run saw FlyingFox play through the entirety of the original game with the character Tails, which is possible only in the 2013 rerelease of the game on Android and iOS. Because the category relies on in-game time, not real-time, it took the moderators a moment to realize that FlyingFox set the record, during which time the runner said she was just happy that she "didn't die." This delay was caused in part due to the event occurring virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Are you kidding, BACK TO BACK WORLD RECORDS?! Another one by 9 seconds thanks to another ridiculous run by @zaxon96 in Sonic 3: AIR, congratulations! What the heck are these Sonic runners eating today? #AGDQ2021
— Games Done Quick (@GamesDoneQuick) January 4, 2021
Just after FlyingFox's run, the runner Zaxon96 set a new world record in the Sonic fangame Sonic 3 AIR, which is an enhanced port of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. According to the Games Done Quick Twitter account, this is the first time that back-to-back world records have been set at a GDQ event, which is certainly a historical milestone.