Largest pumpkin by circumference

The largest pumpkin by circumference measured 642.6 centimetres (21 feet 1 inch) around from stem to blossom when it was presented by Travis Gienger (USA) at the 50th Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off held in Half Moon Bay, California, USA, on 9 October 2023. The measurements have been verified by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.

The monster gourd (grown from an Atlantic Giant 2365 Wolf seed) also claimed the record as the heaviest pumpkin ever weighed in competition, tipping the scales at 2,749 lb (1,246.9 kg).

Other key measurements included: 120 in (304.8 cm) stem to blossom and 126.5 in (321.3 cm) side to side. The pumpkin's total OTT (over the top) measurement was 499.5 in (1,268.7 cm); the OTT combines the circumference with an end-to-end length and a side-to-side width.

As it is the year 2023, Gienger named the gigantic gourd "Michael Jordan" (a nod to the iconic basketball player's shirt number), plus because the pumpkin "started out basketball round, and I said this is going to be a perfectly round basketball-shaped pumpkin”. As it transpired, it ended up far from spherical, but nevertheless a record-breaking size.

Horticulture teacher Gienger is no stranger to the record books with his pumpkins, having grown several giants which have gone on to be converted into record-setting jack o'lanterns. Most recently in 2022, his 2,560-lb (1,161.2-kg) gourd, dubbed "Maverick", was transformed into an eagle-themed jack o'lantern by carver Mike Rudolph (USA); it had a record circumference of 242 in (20 ft 2 in; 614.7 cm).