KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 tower runner Soh Wai Ching ushered in 2026 in record-breaking style and used his victory to rally fellow Malaysian athletes to chase greater heights this year after storming to victory at the Cinda International Financial Centre Run Up in Shanxi, China, on Thursday.
The Malaysian star clocked seven minutes and 49 seconds (7:49), becoming the first athlete to dip below eight minutes on the 54-storey course, featuring 1,560 steps with 266m elevation gain, slashing almost a full minute off the previous benchmark of 8:48.
China‘s Xue Jian Dong, ranked world No. 12, finished second in 8:01, while former course record holder Han Shi Ming took third in 8:22.
The Cinda International Financial Centre, the tallest building in Shanxi province, hosted its fourth edition this year and saw more than 500 participants compete.
The victory not only marked Wai Ching’s first title of 2026 but also delivered Malaysia its earliest international sporting victory of the year.
It also followed a dominant 2025 season in which he won 26 of the 32 competitions he contested, underlining the consistency behind his current world No. 1 status.
Wai Ching wrote on his Facebook page: “Happy New Year! First competition of the year and celebrated it with good news here in China. It’s time to bring back home the first trophy.
“I believe this is probably the first win in sports for Malaysia in 2026.
“Grateful of always being able to perform well in my sport for my country.
“Keep striving and achieving to all the Malaysian athletes in 2026. May the Year of the Horse get you guys to always believe in yourself, put in the work, get the horsepower needed, and make Malaysia proud.
“Excited to go back home and celebrate the joy with my wife and my little one.”
This win also serves as a springboard into a stacked Towerrunning Tour calendar, beginning with the Shenzhen Ping An Finance Centre International Vertical Marathon on Jan 10.
He will also compete in the Taipei 101 Run Up and DC Tower Run in May, the KL Tower Run Up in June, The Sky Race @ Merdeka 118 in August on home soil, the Shanghai World Financial Center Sky Marathon in October and the Shanghai Tower Towerrunning Challenge in November.
He summed up his ambitions simply: “With all these, I will maintain my No. 1 ranking by the end of the year.”
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
