The fastest, the biggest, the highest … records are being smashed across the planet as thousands of people take part in Guinness World Records Day.

The event, now in its 13th year, has seen new records set in gymnastics, cup stacking, baking, basketball, and human flight, with hundreds sharing details of their attempts on social media.

Richard Browning, founder and chief test pilot of the British firm Gravity Industries, broke the record for the fastest speed in a body-controlled jet-engine-powered suit, reaching 32.02mph (51.53 kilometres an hour) in his kerosene-fuelled Iron Man exoskeleton.

Liu Teng, a contortionist from China, smashed the record for the fastest time to travel 20 metres in a contortion roll – in front of a crowd in Nuojin hotel, Beijing, rolling to the title in just 15.54 seconds.

Fabio and Giuliano Anastasini, two brothers at the Big Apple circus, in New York, recorded the most Risley flips in 30 seconds – at the Lincoln Centre in Manhattan, gyrating to victory with 32 full rotations.

In Japan, Yuya Yamada, AKA “Hoop Man Yu-Ya”, broke the record for the largest hula hoops spun with a hoop measuring 5.14 metres (16.86ft).

In Stockholm, the record for the largest vegan cake was broken by Swedish YouTube star Therese Lindgren and her friends in a vegetarian school. It weighed 462.4kg (1,019lb 6 oz).

The Harlem Globetrotters added another basketball title to their name, smashing the record for the highest upward basketball shot in Salt Lake City, Utah. Thunder Law achieved a height of 15.26 metres with the historic throw.