Wai Ching conquers Berjaya Times Square

KUALA LUMPUR - Tower running champion Soh Wai Ching continued his extraordinary feats when he took on the challenge of climbing the 203- metre (m) tall Berjaya Times Square building here in the inaugural Berjaya Times Square Tower Run 2023 meet today.

The world number one tower runner completed the 47-storey run involving 1,061 steps in five minutes and six second(s) to claim the title of the prestigious race.

The success achieved his 67th victory of the year after the 28-year-old participated in 100 tower running championships.

Commenting on today's race, Wai Ching said he was very proud to be able to make a name for himself in Malaysia despite admitting that it was a tough challenge.

"The race was quite challenging, because I started running too fast and tried to maintain the pace, it was a bit of a struggle but I was able to reach the finish, after I got to the finish I just lay down.

"I actually had a target of under five minutes but this result is okay, next year I want to break this record," he told Bernama.

Second and third place went to Taiwanese runners Ching Chung Lo and Yu Chieh Yen, who clocked 5:47s and 5:57s respectively.

In the meantime, the Selangor-born athlete is eyeing to defend his third title at The Empire State Building Run-Up (ESBRU) in New York on Oct 4.

Wai Ching, who previously became the first Asian runner to win the ESBRU, said he wanted to continue creating a sensation at the tournament by breaking the record of 9:33s set by Paul Crake from Australia in 2003.

Having attained the world number one ranking in May 2022, he is determined to maintain it for the next 10 years.

On July 18, Wai Ching received a Special Award at the 2022 National Sports Awards. - BERNAMA