a couple of rambling comments...
how many attempts had been made to break the record in the last 70 years? Did 50 people try (and fail)? In which case this would be quite a feat. If no one else had tried, how significant is it? How about the record from JNB to Paris? or George to Manchester? There are an infinite number of city pairs, and is this one specially isignificant?
Also, several comments about this being a feat of endurance. In that case, doesn't 4 days 19 hours show MORE endurance than 3 day 10 hours, or whatever the new record was?