KUALA LUMPUR – After winning countless tower-running competitions, Malaysia’s top tower-runner Soh Wai Ching will be attempting to etch his name once again in the Guinness World Records.
Fresh from winning the Estonia Tower-Running Championship at the Tallinn TV Tower, Wai Ching is eyeing a new world mark for the “Farthest Stimulated Distance Climbed on a Stair Machine in One Hour”.
Although there is currently no record for the event, Wai Ching will need to beat the benchmark of 1.61km in an hour for his attempt to be considered a new world record.
Wai Ching said there would not be an official adjudicator from Guinness to witness his attempt at the Technogym Experience Centre in Bangsar at 9pm this Friday, as the cost to have an official present was not worth it.
“There is a cost of almost £10,000 pounds (RM54,896) for the service. Even though I have many sponsors I want to use the funding for overseas tournaments.
“I will do the attempt on Friday, we will then submit the data and video recordings to Guinness, and it will take them one to two months to verify my attempt.
“There is no rush to get the certification right away, I can wait. I don’t want to waste money on paying for it right away,” he said at a press conference at the Babel Gym in KLCC.
In November 2020, Wai Ching set the world record for “Greatest Vertical Height Stair Climbing in One Hour” after covering a total distance of 1.295km at Kuala Lumpur’s Four Seasons Hotel.
However, his record was swiftly broken by Japanese tower-runner Ryoji Watanabe who set a distance of 1.609km at the Tokyo Skytree in Sumida.
Wai Ching hinted that he would be attempting to retake that record from Watanabe later this year, pending his attempt this Friday.
The top tower runner also noted the physical challenge presented by Friday’s attempt, as running on a stair machine is far harder than on regular stairs.
“I find it more challenging on the machine because usually I just have to run up a tower for about five to 10 minutes and it’s over, plus on normal stairs I can skip a couple of stairs each step.
“But that’s hard to do on a machine when there are only three steps available at one time. I need to make sure I maintain my rhythm because it will be so easy to make a mistake.
“Each step on the machine is 20.6cm, so I will need to do at least 133 steps per minute to cover 7,800 steps in an hour to pass the 1.61-km benchmark.
“That is almost the distance of four KL Towers, but I am confident I can do it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wai Ching said his autobiography is currently 60% complete and set to be published in September.
“I am still in the writing process, and I want to include my journey – coming from a B40 family with nothing to becoming a world-number-one athlete.
“I hope to inspire many others to do the same and keep on believing in themselves,” he said. – The Vibes, April 4, 2023
