KUALA LUMPUR: After winning the 10th Edition of Teletorni Trepijooks at the Teletorni TV Tower in Tallinn, Estonia on April 2, Malaysian tower running athlete Soh Wai Ching will attempt to set a Guinness record for the “farthest simulated distance climbed on a stair machine in one hour”.
The event will be held tomorrow at the Technogym Experience Centre Kuala Lumpur in Bangsar at 9pm.
Soh said he chose the date in conjunction with World Health Day, as he wants to encourage Malaysians to be active.
“This attempt is not only for myself but also to encourage Malaysians to practise a healthy lifestyle by walking up the stairs whenever they can or have access to it.
“This is especially for those who live in high-rise condominiums or apartments and anyone who takes public transport, as there will be many opportunities available to work out,” he said, adding that his tower running career has become his prime passion.
“Although my world record attempt is not a competition, I would still want to set a goal for myself.
“There was a time when I was feeling bored since I won almost every competition. So, this attempt serves to challenge me to a different level,” he said at a media conference on Tuesday.
Soh also said he welcomes anyone who would like to challenge him after his world record attempt tomorrow.
“I am confident that considering my ability, I would be able to set a Guinness World Record for tower running. However, if the record I set is broken, I will attempt the challenge again to ensure that Malaysia remains at the top for tower running in the Guinness World Record.”
He said his achievements as well as the records he set are what propels him to constantly challenge himself, despite how tiring the sport is.
Soh also expressed gratitude to all his sponsors for supporting and helping him in his attempt to set the Guinness World Record.
“I wish to thank the country manager of Technogym Malaysia, Lester Neil Francis, Petaling Jaya City Council Mayor Mohamad Azhan Md Azmir, deputy chairman of Better Malaysia Foundation Datin Seri Sunita Rajakumar, chief operating officer of B Fitness Asia, Billy Waters and the Malaysia Towerrunning Association, among others, for supporting and guiding me through my achievements.”
On his future plans, Soh said he will be publishing his autobiography by the end of September.
“I want to tell people about all the obstacles I went through, my achievements and my journey to become a tower running athlete.
“I hope once the book is published, it would inspire others to either do the same or just work hard, achieve their dreams and never give up.”
He said the Guinness World Record bid is much more difficult compared with the competitions he has won, as there would be no stairway railings for him to leverage on.
“That makes it much harder. Also, competitions take me less than 10 minutes to complete but here, I have to climb the stairs for an hour.”
