KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 — Asia’s top tower runner Soh Wai Ching has been confirmed as the new Guinness World Record holder for the Greatest Vertical Height Stair Climbing in One Hour (Male) with a distance of 1.295km.

The 26-year-old Malaysian received confirmation from the adjudicator, Swapnil Dangarikar from India, within 48 hours as promised, followed by a written confirmation from the Guinness World Records London Headquarters.

"Achieving a world record is the ultimate dream for any athlete, but for Malaysia Towerrunning Association and myself, I hope with this attempt we will be able to inspire all of you to do something great, be creative, think out of the box, despite the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Soh, who is also the president of Malaysia Towerrunning Association.

On Wednesday, at the Four Seasons Hotel, Soh beat the world record held by David Robles Tapia of Spain who clocked in a distance of 1.227km in an hour.

According to the statement issued by Malaysia Towerrunning Association, the official virtual certificate presentation is scheduled to take place at the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), soon.

In the statement, Malaysia Towerrunning Association vice president Ravinder Singh said they thanked the security team of the Four Seasons KL who had diligently provided the logistics support for the 12 training sessions held over a month.

"Despite the challenging economic period, we acknowledge the main sponsors namely, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Allianz, KBS, US Potatoes, National Sports Institute (ISN) and Yakult. A special mention to TNB and Allianz for doubling their sponsorship at the last minute when unexpected expenses arose.

"Taking up this challenge, we faced so many obstacles but kept positive by focusing only on solutions, one by one. The journey has prepared us for greater heights and belief,” said Ravinder. — Bernama