At the fifth annual Powerade Sky Tower Vertical Challenge event today, another set of outstanding results were achieved from over 1,100 entrants - making this year’s event the biggest ever.

The day began at 7:00am with para-athletes Lee Warn (returning for his third year) and Sarah Belgrave, (first attempt) who climbed the 1029 stairs backwards on their hands. Lee Warn (Greenlane, Auckland) completed the Vertical Challenge in a record time of 42 minutes 50 seconds this year and Sarah Belgrave, (North Shore, Auckland) in one hour, 42 minutes and 12 seconds.

The teams events started soon after at around 8:30 am. Auckland team City Sales took out the male team title in an overall time of 26 minutes 58 seconds (calculated by adding the best four individual times together) with No Gimmicks (Les Mills Gym Auckland), a close second in a combined effort of 27 minutes and 38 seconds. A team from Vodafone was awarded third place finishing in 30 minutes and 50 seconds. In the female team section, No Gimmicks won with 33 minutes and 36 seconds, Chapman Tripp achieved second place in a time of 36 minutes and two seconds and Lorraine’s Angels came in third in a time of 40 minutes and one second.

Of special interest in the teams section, 86 year old Syd Taylor from West Auckland, (oldest competitor) completed the event in a time of 17 minutes and 26 seconds beaten by his great grandson, Brendan McCann, (aged 11 - one of the youngest competitors), who finished in a time of 10 minutes 35 seconds. Syd and Brendan both ran for their team titled Grandad’s Army.

A trans-tasman team of five fire fighters in full fire fighting regalia took on the Powerade Sky Tower Vertical Challenge this year. Regan Bridge from Pukekohe won in a time of ten minutes 18 seconds ahead of Keith Hansen from Australia who completed the event in a time of 11 minutes and 42 seconds. Waitakere’s Deputy fire chief, Benjamin Basevi, finished in fourth place in a time of 13 minutes and 24 seconds in this grueling category behind Andrew Stephenson from Australia (13 minutes 23 seconds).

Defending champion, Jonathan Wyatt from Wellington, was hot favourite to defend his title against Australian Paul Crake (who recently won the 2002 Empire State Building race) in the Elite Men’s category and did so with just one second to spare this year. Wyatt, who has won the event for his fourth successive year, completed the challenge in a new record time of five minutes and seven seconds in front of Crake (five minutes eight seconds), in what was the closest finish for the male elite title ever.

Crake won the inaugural Sky Tower Vertical Challenge in 1998 in front of Wyatt, and it’s been a battle for first place between the two athletes each year since. Michael Wakelin from Brooklyn, took out third place in a time of six minutes and eight seconds.

In the Elite Women’s challenge, defending champion and 2001 New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year, Melissa Moon, (Wellington) won in style setting a new record time of six minutes and 39 seconds in front of Auckland’s Maree Turner (nee Bunce). Turner, who won the event in the first three years (1998, 1999 and 2000), returned to the event last year, in the fun run category, held just days after the birth of her baby son. She was back in true form this year to take second place in a time of seven minutes and seven seconds in front of Moana Burt from Newtown, who completed the challenge in a time of seven minutes and 38 seconds.

On completion of their races, elite section winners Wyatt, Moon, Turner and Crake, all took up the Ultimate Challenge by doing Sky Jump off Sky Tower immediately after their races. Sky Jump is the world’s longest adventure jump available to the public, offering a 192 metre cabled descent down the side of Sky Tower from the main observation deck on level 51 to the ground).

Full results from today’s event will be posted up on the web site www.poprun.co.nz before 5:00pm tonight.

For further information/interviews/pics:

Vanessa Regan

Sky City Communications Executive

Phone (09) 363 6017 or 021 665 253

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