Caitlyn Jenner breaks record for sprint to 1 million Twitter followers

The new Twitter handle for the Olympic gold medal decathlete and reality star formerly known as Bruce Jenner on Monday became the fastest to reach a million followers, surpassing President Barack Obama's Twitter account launched just two weeks ago, said Kristen Ott, a spokeswoman for Guinness World Records.

Jenner's verified Twitter account,@Caitlyn_Jenner, netted 1 million followers in 4 hours and 3 minutes after she posted her first tweet -- a cover photo of her on this month's issue of Vanity Fair shot by Annie Leibovitz -- and a second tweet, that said, "I'm so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world of Caitlyn. Can't wait for you to get to know me."

The Vanity Fair article discusses at length Jenner's gender transition, her fame and her past marriages.

Jenner has long been in the public spotlight, but that intensified earlier this year amid reports that she was undergoing gender reassignment surgery. In April, she spoke to Diane Sawyer about her gender transition, but did not reveal her new name. She's starring in a new reality show scheduled to begin airing at the end of July on the E! network.

The reaction to Jenner on Twitter was instant, as there have been more than 1.5 million tweets about her, including an outpouring of support from celebrities including her famous reality TV-star family and pop star Lady Gaga, Twitter officials said.

Also on Monday, ESPN announced that it will be honoring Jenner with its Arthur Ashe Courage Award during its ESPYs ceremony on July 15 in Los Angeles.

In the past few months, the overwhelming outpouring of support from all over the world for my journey has been incredible," Jenner said in a statement. "However, being honored with this award, which is named after one of my heroes, is truly special. For the first time this July, I will be able to stand as my true self in front of my peers."

Source: cnet