Newspaper July 2014

2014 Towerrunning European Champions:
Piotr Lobodzinski & Andrea Mayr
2015 Towerrunning
World Championships
Inaugural Towerrunning
WCH awarded to Aspire
Zone & The Torch Doha
TWA Athlete
Registration
New duties, but also new
services for athletes will
be introduced
Sturm auf den Keine
Sorgen Turm
Andrea Mayr wins her
comeback race with a
margin of just 0.9 s.
All time World Cup
Ranking
1000 races in the World
Cup era – high time for
a statistical review
The monthly
Towerrunning Newspaper
of the Towerrunning World Association
July 2014
www.towerrunning.com
Towerrunning World Association
Page 2
World Championships 2015
Inaugural Towerrunning WCH awarded to Aspire Zone & The Torch Doha
The Towerrunning World Association (TWA) announced that Qatar’s Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) had won the right
to host the inaugural TWA Towerrunning World Championships in 2015 at The Torch Doha.
Speaking at the 2014 Towerrunning European Championships in Slovakia, TWA President Sebastian Wurster said:
“We were impressed by Aspire's excellent facilities and the professional organization of the 2014 Grand Prix of Qatar.
It was a logical consequence to build upon this basis and jointly develop the first edition of the Towerrunning World
Championships. I am convinced that the Aspire Zone Foundation & Torch Hotel will host a great event, opening up new
horizons for the Towerrunning sport.”
Aspire Zone Foundation CEO Khalid A-Sulaiteen said: “We are honoured the TWA has selected Aspire Zone to host
the Towerrunning World Championships in 2015. As it is the first time the event will occur we appreciate the trust that
the TWA has placed in us to jointly organize a memorable event. Aspire Zone continues to be a leader in promoting
healthy lifestyles and we look forward to combining the World Championships with a Towerrunning event for the
community.”
The 2015 TWA Towerrunning World Championships will take place on 27-28 March and include a two-day race
programme with three heats combining different distances and competition modes. A spectacular and TV-friendly start
mode, similar to automobile racing, will be used for the grand final of the top 30 male and female athletes. A dedicated
elite athlete invitation policy is set to attract the strongest athletes from all over the world, who will compete for the
individual and team World Champion titles and cash prizes. The sporting competition will be accompanied by a
diversified supporting programme with a gala dinner, schools outreach and a medical conference.
Having organized the Torch Staircase Run for the past three years, AZF was well placed to submit a bid for the World
Championships. In 2014 the race was awarded official Grand Prix status and attracted a capacity field of 350 runners
including some of the best international stair runners from Europe, USA and Australia.
The Torch Doha was built as a landmark of the 2006 Asian Games and houses a 5-star luxury hotel, providing highend hospitality services and business facilities. The staircase provides a climb of 1304 steps across 51 floors.
Towerrunning is one of the fastest growing sports and a striking trend in the running scene. Each year more than
100,000 athletes and running enthusiasts climb towers, skyscrapers and outdoor stairs to experience this special
challenge. Towerrunning competitions are held in 40 countries and elite athletes travel worldwide to climb iconic towers
and to collect points for the World Cup series of the Towerrunning World Association.
Towerrunning World Association
Page 3
Race report
European Champions 2014: Piotr Lobodzinski & Andrea Mayr
Having conquered the tallest buildings of Austria (Danube Tower Vienna) and
Czech Republic (AZ Tower Brno) and Bratislava's iconic Ufo in an innovative
three-day tournament Andrea Mayr (AUT) and Piotr Lobodzinski (POL)
emerged as the 2014 Towerrunning European Champions. While Mayr
celebrated superior wins in all three stages, Piotr Lobodzinski had to struggle
for the overall victory on the last 430 stairs of the championships.
After his triumphs in Vienna and Brno, Lobodzinski entered the final as the
clear leader in the point standings and a forth place in Bratislava would have
been sufficient to secure the title. Reaching the finish with his last ounce of
strength, Lobodzinski took the third rank in the final and thus the European
Champion title - just two seconds apart from loosing the gold medal. The
Bratislava win and the ECH silver medal were claimed by Tomas Celko (SVK,
1:44.6), who was able to shave another 5.1 seconds from his own track record.
Christian Riedl, narrowly defeated by Lobodzinski in Brno and equal in points
with Celko before the grand final, was without a chance against the Slovak in
the final race. Riedl became fifth in Bratislava and ECH bronze medallist.
Ranks four to six in the ECH tournament went to Bratislava runner-up Bartosz
Swiatkowski (POL, 1:45.8), Fabio Ruga (ITA) and Matjaz Miklosa (SLO).
In the women's competition Andrea Mayr broke the track record (2:15.1) and
crowned herself to the tournament's triple winner and undisputed
Towerrunning European Champion. In the difficult and narrow spiral staircase
Lenka Svabikova (CZE, 2:33.2) could beat Suzanne Walsham (AUS, 2:23.7)
for the first time in her career and cemented the ECH silver medal. In the battle
for the bronze medal Dominika Wisniewska-Ulfik (POL) and Maria Theresa
Handlbauer (AUT) entered the last race with equal point standings. With a
fourth place (2:28.4) Austria's young stair racing talent Handlbauer gathered
the decisive points for the ECH bronze medal. Wisniewska-Ulfik finished the
ECH fourth and Zuzana Krchova (CZE) took an unexpected fifth overall rank.
Under ideal weather conditions an outstanding selection of the strongest
European athletes started their race on the Danube promenade before
storming in and up the spectacular pylon of Nove Mest Bridge up to the Ufo's
observatory. Similar to the first two races the ECH final was coined by fair
play, a great atmosphere and an incredibly high competition level. Elite
athletes from 18 countries competed in the 3 days – 3 towers – 3 countries
tournament and made the European Towerrunning Championships 2014 a
huge success. A total of 1909 stairs had to be climbed before the champions
could hold the trophies in their hand. Austrian Towerrunning legend Andrea
Mayr, extending her unbeaten series in stair races, and reigning World Cup
champion Piotr Lobodzinski from Poland became worthy champions and an
emotional award ceremony on the banks of the Danube River was the brilliant
finale of a great event.
Towerrunning World Association
Page 4
Towerrunning European Championships 2014
It was an amazing experience
The first time I heard about Towerrunning was when I
was invited to the race in Enschede in the end of 2013.
From this moment on, I started my Towerrunning
journey. After I finished the Almere Premium Race on
the 7th place, I received an invitation to participate at the
European Championships – and of course I was very
honoured that I got this chance! By looking back at the
European Championships, I can say that it was an
amazing experience. The organization was outstanding,
the buildings were beautiful, the level of the races was
extremely high, so in short; a real European Championship.
Towerrunning World Association
It´s been already more than 6 years since I´ve started
with Towerrunning. My first race was in Olomouc in the
Czech Republic. In the meantime I have taken part in
about 10 races of the Czech Run Up series and almost
every time I made it to the final round. In the European
Towerrunning Championships I met so many great elite
runners from all over the world who inspired me a lot.
For the upcoming months I am going to train harder and
more often. I would like to take part in more Towerrunning events than I used to, so I can get qualified for
2015 Towerrunning World Championships in Doha and
compete against the best ones. Let’s get started!
Page 5
Towerrunning European Championships 2014
ECH Final Standings
Towerrunning World Association
Page 6
Race report
Thrill in Linz – Andrea Mayr remains unbeaten
The first Premium Race in Austria was the premiere of “Sturm auf den Keine
Sorgen Turm" in Linz. It took place on a course that differs from all other stair
races in the world. From the outdoor start the athletes ran trough the OK
“Offenes Kulturhaus”, an institution for contemporary art, before a set of stairs
and a wooden path served as the connection to the spectacular "Keine Sorgen
Turm" which actually rests on top of the building. The finish line was located at
the observation platform, 55 m above the OK square.
It is hard to believe that this diversified track with a total of 336 stairs was
mastered in just 71.8 seconds by Slovakian winner Tomas Celko - but let's
tackle things one at a time. Stefan Stefina (SVK, 1:19.2) was the first racer
with a time less than 80 seconds. A few minutes later reigning Czech
Towerrunning champion Tomas Macecek (1:18.8) took the lead, before
compatriot Pavel Holec set a new benchmark with an incredible finish on the
wooden stairs of the tower. His 1:15.6 could not be reached by Slovenian
Matjaz Miklosa, who secured the bronze medal in 1:17.7 one day after his
surprising victory at St. Stephens Cathedral Vienna, and by Poland's Bartosz
Swiatkowski, becoming 5th in 1:19.2. The last runner at the starting line was
Tomas Celko from Slovakia. He emerged as the “King of Linz” with his
outstanding performance and a nearly unbelievable time. Norbert Lechner and
Klaus Hausleitner ended up 7th and 8th so the Austrian team was not
represented on the prize money ranks - in sharp contrast to the women's race.
Tension was in the air and everyone wanted to see, whether Andrea Mayr
would retain her unbeaten status in stair races. Czech World Cup runner-up
Lenka Svabikova had already set a very strong 1:33.3 when Mayr started.
After tense two minutes it became clear: Andrea Mayr (1:32.4) won the race,
but never before another athlete came as close. Svabikova was only 9 tenths
of a second apart from the Austrian legend. The 3rd place went to Jana
Zatlukalova (SVK, 1:40.5). Maria Theresia Handlbauer on 4th place, missing
the podium by just one second in her first stair race, outcompeted the
experienced runners Annabelle Mary Konczer (AUT, 1:47,5) and German
champion Manuela Hartl (1:48,3).
Cash prizes of 5,600 € and other benefits had attracted a very high carat
international field to the event. Live timing, a video wall and an excellent
presentation with the assistance of TWA Ranking Manager Rudi Reitberger
made the innovative race highly attractive for the numerous spectators. Their
applause could be even heard at the finish, where the top athletes gathered to
cheer and celebrate each other - unprecedented and pure Towerrunning
emotions.
Gallery: http://galleries.towerrunning.com/linz2014/
Towerrunning World Association
Page 7
Announcement for the 2015 Towerrunning season
Athlete registration, new services and standardized data management
In the 2015 season the Towerrunning World Association (TWA)
and our sport will do another step towards global
professionalization by introducing an official athlete registration
system, connected with a systematic data management and
new services. In this article we summarize the most important
information about the new regulations. Additional in-depth
information are provided in the official documents for event
organizers, athletes and national association which will be
distributed in the coming days.
All athletes will have the possibility to register at www.towerrunning.com by filling in a registration form requiring only
few personal data (name, gender, year of birth, nationality, email, ...). After registration an individual TWA Athlete ID
will be created and sent to you. This ID together with your password will give you access to your personal page in a
protected area of the TWA website. From 2015 your individual access can be used for viewing your race results and
statistics, applying for TWA elite athlete support (travel packages ...) and registering for international Towerrunning
championships such as the 2015 Towerrunning World Championships in Doha.
The new database features will include a graph of your weekly places in the TWA ranking system so you get an
overview how your ranking develops over time. Moreover, a function will be introduced that allows you to compare your
race results and your ranking history with the data from other registered athletes. The database will also include special
rankings by nationality, geographical area, age groups or distance categories. Of course your ideas for additional
functions and services are welcome.
Another interesting feature will be our race calendar. In the public area of the homepage only the races of the next four
weeks can be seen. After logging in you can see all confirmed races of the coming months with search and sorting
functions and direct links to the event websites (if already available).
The registration fee will be 24 € (about 32 USD). A reduced fee of 18 € shall apply to youth athletes and competitors
belonging to the 50+ age category. From 2015 conducting the registration process will be mandatory for all athletes
who want to be listed in the World Cup ranking or take part in the 2015 Towerrunning World Championships. Invitations
and TWA-related elite athlete benefits will also be restricted to registered athletes. The revenues from the athlete
registration will be used to finance the new services, but also to support the work of the national Towerrunning
associations and to conduct social, educational and research projects of the TWA.
Registration for the 2015 season will be possible from September 1, 2014 until January 31, 2015. To test the
registration procedure a free and voluntary registration will be offered from August 1, 2014. All athletes having
registered in the voluntary period can pay their registration fee after the launch of the official registration period to
prolong their membership and to profit from the aforementioned benefits in the 2015 season.
Once the system is introduced not only the athletes, but also the event organizers and national associations will have
to adhere to new regulations and requirements to ensure proper data collection and processing. Every event must be
announced to the TWA at least seven days prior to the end of the registration period for the respective race and the
standardized form for submitting race results will become mandatory from 2015. The form can be submitted by the
race organization committee or time keeping company, but also by every registered athlete and the responsible
national association.
Towerrunning World Association
Page 8
Towerrunning Germany
Marvin Bär: New average speed world record
Defending champion Marvin Bär (GER) has won the third edition of Keltern's
Himmelsleiterlauf. Closely failing to improve the track and world record in the
first climb, the physiotherapist and amateur soccer player raced the final heat
in 18.53 seconds. With an average of 0.1177 seconds per step (8.50 stairs per
second) he improved his own average speed world record in official TWA
World Cup races.
Since the inaugural edition of the Himmelsleiterlauf in 2012 the linear concrete
staircase in Keltern-Ellmendingen with its 157.5 stairs is famous as the fastest
playground in the Towerrunning World Cup series. Women's world record
holder Ronja Zonsius (GER) defended her title, but without improving last
year's time.
The Himmelsleiterlauf was the tenth stop of the Towerrunning Germany series.
With seven races still to come Xinxin Maier, sixth in Keltern, and Rafael Klosok
sit atop the intermediate standings. The LVM Skyrun Münster will host the
grand final of the German series on October 12.
Gallery: http://galleries.towerrunning.com/keltern2014/
www.towerrunning-germany.de
Towerrunning World Association
Page 9
Statistics
1000 Towerrunning World Cup Races – High time for a statistical review
The Sturm auf den Keine Sorgen Turm in Linz was the 1000th TWA-acknowledged race since the World Cup ranking
and the systematic statistical evaluation of Towerrunning races have begun in January 2009. Below you will find a fine
selection of figures showcasing the strongest athletes of the past 66 months.
Top 3
Towerrunning World Association
Races
Page 10
Statistics
The strongest performances in the 2014 season
Men
Piotr Lobodzinski (POL), 6-1-0
Christian Riedl (GER), 8
Piotr Lobodzinski (POL), 4
Piotr Lobodzinski (POL), 1209
Best medal count
Most podium results
Most victories at Grand Prix / Premium Races
Most points scored in the 2014 season
Women
Cindy Harris (USA), 4-1-0
Lenka Svabikova (CZE), 7
Suzanne Walsham (AUS), 3
Lenka Svabikova (CZE), 1056
Event ranking 2014 (top 10 events)
Men
Score Ratio
Women
Top 10 Top 30 Top 10 Top 30
1
Donauturm Treppenlauf Vienna (ECH)
30.724
7
15
5
11
2
AZ Tower Vertical Sprint Brno (ECH)
29.806
7
14
5
11
2
Ufo Vertical Sprint (ECH)
29.806
7
14
5
11
4
SkyRun MesseTurm Frankfurt
21.100
6
10
3
3
5
Rondo 1 Run Up Warsaw
16.717
5
10
2
3
6
Sturm auf den Keine Sorgen Turm Linz
15.948
3
10
2
5
7
Empire State Building Run Up New York
15.244
3
7
4
6
8
TV Tower Run Tallinn
14.919
4
7
3
3
9
Taipei 101 Run Up
13.713
6
7
0
3
10
WTC Trappenloop Almere
11.935
4
8
1
1
Medal table Grand Prix & Premium Races (top 5 countries)
Standings after 15 of 23 races
Total
Men
Women
P1
P2
P3
P1
P2
P3
P1
P2
P3
1
Poland
7
3
2
6
3
1
1
0
1
2
Australia
5
4
1
2
1
0
3
3
1
3
Austria
4
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
4
United States
3
6
3
1
2
1
2
4
2
5
Germany
2
5
3
2
5
3
0
0
0
Towerrunning World Association
Page 11
World Cup
World Cup Standings as of July 6
Impressum
Towerrunning World Association
Towerrunning e. U., FN: 341348h, UID-Nr. ATU65567567, Address: Binagasse 17/13 1230 Vienna, Austria
Editor-in-chief: Sebastian Wurster (TWA-President)
Editors: Michael Reichetzeder (Executive Director), Piotr Jakobik (Media Director)
Advertising contact: [email protected]
Submission of articles: [email protected]
www.towerrunning.com
Towerrunning World Association

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