MALAYSIA’S world number one tower runner Soh Wai Ching has captured another title by defending the Kolnturm Treppenlauf (Cologne Tower run) crown with a new course record.
The 28-year-old won the overall category title in the Cologne Tower challenge, also known as the Germany Towerrunning Championship, by running up the 714-step, 39-floor tower (at a 132-meter elevation gain) in three minutes and 17 seconds today.
Wai Ching, who emerged as the overall champion in the 2021 edition by clocking 3:24s, managed to improve his personal best by seven seconds and break the record by six seconds.
The previous course record of 3:23s was set by former world number one Christian Riedl of Germany in 2017.
The host country’s Gorge Heimann (3:35s) and Andreas Fruhmann (3:37s) finished second and third respectively, according to the official tournament website.
Commenting on the win, Wai Ching said he was grateful for his record-breaking feat and hopes to achieve a double gold target by winning the Zagreb Tower running event on Saturday (Sept 3) ahead of Malaysia’s National Day on Wednesday (Aug 31).
He also told Bernama that he has been training at his new apartment in the KLCC area, which he got thanks to his sponsors – Berjaya Corporation, Better Malaysia Foundation and the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).
“Tomorrow (Aug 30), I will be travelling to Zagreb, Croatia, and start preparing for the next tower run – my aim is to win the competition and also break the course record,” he said, adding that Zagreb Tower has 25 floors, 490 steps and an 83.3m elevation gain. – Aug 29, 2022
Main pic credit: Kosmo
