A Maine gardener has cultivated a zucchini about as heavy as a grown adult — and it now stands as the largest ever documented in North America.
Meet Secretariat, the 170-Pound Zucchini
Sarah Whitty of Damariscotta, Maine — known to her online followers as Pumpkinista — shared on October 1 that her giant marrow zucchini, nicknamed "Secretariat," officially tipped the scales at 170 pounds. The Maine Pumpkin Growers Association broke the news of the milestone, which is said to beat the former North American record by 7 pounds. In clips from the October 2026 weigh-off, Whitty poses next to the massive dark-green vegetable, beaming in a "got zucchini?" t-shirt while holding a sign that reads "170 lb 2026."
Redemption After Last Year's Heartbreak
This record tastes even sweeter because Whitty narrowly missed out last year. She grew a 162-pound zucchini the previous season, but a crack in the vegetable knocked it out of contention — a familiar risk with giant marrows. This year's perfect 170-pound specimen left no room for doubt.
The Internet Is Obsessed with 'Secretariat'
Whitty chronicled Secretariat's whole growing journey for her audience, and the big reveal went viral. Roughly 13 hours after posting, her TikTok announcement had pulled in more than 254,000 likes, nearly 6,000 comments, and upwards of 14,000 shares. Followers who had watched the zucchini's progress for months rejoiced as though the win were their own — one commented, "I just screamed to my husband 'OMG SHE GOT THE RECORD, SHE DID IT!!'" And the excitement isn't over: Whitty's giant pumpkins, War Admiral and Seabiscuit, still have their weigh-ins ahead.
A Lifetime of Giant Vegetables
Whitty is far from new to supersized harvests. She has been raising giant vegetables for over ten years, with a few of her pumpkins crossing 1,400 pounds. Her accolades already include a 2023 Maine state record for a 60.5-pound marrow and a 2024 state record for a 5.19-pound tomato — though that tomato mark has since fallen to a 6.92-pound fruit grown by Leon Busby of South Bristol. She heads the Maine Pumpkin Growers Organization as its president and posts educational gardening videos for an audience of more than 130,000 YouTube subscribers.
How Secretariat Stacks Up Against Past Records
Whitty's 170-pound marrow didn't just set a record — it smashed the old one. According to NewsCenter Maine, Secretariat weighed in 7 pounds heavier than the previous North American record, which stood at roughly 163 pounds.
To put that in perspective, Whitty's own 162.5-pound marrow from 2025 fell just half a pound short of that old mark before a crack disqualified it — so she essentially spent a year chasing a number she has now blown past.
But the North American record is still a long way from the world record. Per Guinness World Records, the heaviest marrow ever grown weighed 116.4 kilograms — that's 256 pounds 9.8 ounces — grown by Vincent Sjodin of the United Kingdom. Sjodin set the mark on September 23, 2021, at the CANNA UK National Giant Vegetables Championships in Malvern, Worcestershire, beating the previous world record by a full 50 pounds. His secret? Fish guts and heads in the compost.
So while Secretariat reigns supreme in North America, there's still nearly 90 pounds of glory separating Whitty from the world crown. Given her trajectory — from a disqualified 162-pounder to a record-setting 170-pounder in a single year — nobody should count her out.
One woman, one zucchini, 170 pounds — and a North American record that will be tough to beat.
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