Marvel as one dozen looping Japanese school kids set new jump-rope world record by a team

For years, Japan has been known as a global leader in robotics, but increasingly it is getting recognition for a considerably less high-tech endeavor — namely world-class rope skipping.

School kids from Fuji Municipal Harada Elementary School in Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan set an official Guinness World Record for the Most Skips Over a Single Rope in One Minute by a Team.

As two of the taller students spun the rope, a dozen of their classmates wove about them in a tight figure-eight pattern. To synchronize their skips over the rope, the kids alternated in chanting a fast-paced cadence that regulated their strides and jumps. The clockwork-like precision led to a record 225 skips in 60 seconds.

The Harada team took the record from rival Hiromi Elementary School, who achieved an earlier total of 217 skips back in 2013.

Harada Elementary joins fellow Japanese jump-rope aficionados Sadatoshi Watanabe, and a team known as Diana, in setting skipping world records in 2017.

Nimble-footed 23-year-old Ayumi Sakamaki of team Diana set the new world record for Most Double Dutch-style Skips in 30 Seconds with a total of 129 jumps over both ropes.