Pumpkin Weighing 2,749 Pounds Wins California Contest, Sets World Record for Biggest Gourd

Pumpkin Weighing 2,749 Pounds Wins California Contest, Sets World Record for Biggest Gourd
Travis Gienger reacts after winning the Safeway 50th annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Oct. 9, 2023. Eric Risberg/AP Photo
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HALF MOON BAY, Calif.—A Minnesota horticulture teacher set a world record in California on Monday for the heaviest pumpkin after growing a giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighing 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms).

Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, won the 50th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California, with an enormous, lumpy, orange pumpkin that could produce at least 687 pies.