Emanuele Manzi terzo in Cina sulla Canton Tower

Al femminile quinto posto per Cristina Bonacina

  Si è disputata lo scorso sabato a Guangzhou, nella parte meridionale della Cina, la Canton Tower Run Up, gara di towerrunning (corsa sui grattacieli) che era valida anche come Campionato Asiatico della disciplina. La gara, disputata sulla torre simbolo della città, comprendeva un tratto iniziale all’esterno di circa 150 metri e successivamente ben 87 piani per un totale di 430 metri di dislivello totale. Al termine della competizione disputata con la formula a cronometro, vittoria per l’australiano Darren Wilson, al momento uno dei più forti corridori al mondo nel towerrunning. Per l’australiano tempo finale di 14’36”. Seconda piazza per lo slovacco Tomas Celko 15’42” che precede di poco l’italiano Emanuele Manzi (Gs Forestale) che chiude in 15’48”. Per Manzi buona prova nonostante un infortunio ad un polpaccio che ne ha condizionato il pre gara ed il risultato finale. Quarto posto per il ceko Tomas Macecek 16’03” che precede il cinese 欧家敬 16’05” ed il tedesco George Heimann 16’19”.

  In campo femminile ennesimo assolo per l’australiana Suzy Walsham che si impone con il crono di 17’36” staccando le cinesi Fengjuan Fan 19’12” e Lujiao Liao 21’19”. Quarto posto per la cino-tedesca Maier Xinxin 21’59” e quinta piazza per l’italiana Bonacina Crisitna (Sport Race Valtellina ) che chiude la sua fatica in 22’21”. Oltre 750 classificati nella prova finale di una serie di gare che ha coinvolto oltre 5mila partecipanti in gare su tutti i più importanti grattacieli della metropoli cinese. Classifica finale: https://www.corsainmontagna.it/classifiche/guangzhou-cina-canton-tower-run-up   January 9  –  Asian & Oceanian Championships –  Guang Zhou                          Gallery Down Under once again has set the standards: Having claimed 9 of 10 possible victories in the 2014 season’s Grand Prix and Premium Races in East Asia and Australia, the Australian team lived up to its reputation as favourite and claimed both Asian & Oceanian Towerrunning Championship gold medals. Darren Wilson celebrated a superior triumph conquering GuangZhou’s Canton Tower in 14 minutes and 34 seconds, while it took Suzy Walsham 17:36 minutes for her race to one of the highest and largest outdoor observation decks in the world. The margins of victory were incredible 68 and 96 seconds, respectively. Even a fall on the difficult race course could not prevent Darren Wilson from his triumphal procession. Outstanding female Chinese contestants Fengjuan Fan (19:12) and Lujiao Liao (21:19) outcompeted Xinxin Maier (21:59) in the battle for the AOTC medals, whereas the men’s heat was coined by strong performances of the European athletes. Towerrunning World Cup runner-up Tomas Celko (SVK) became second (15:42) with a mere 6 seconds gap in front of Emanuele Manzi (ITA). Czech Republic’s Tomas Macecek came in fourth place (16:03), followed by AOTC silver medallist Jiajing Ou from China (16:05) and Görge Heimann (GER, 16:19). Defa Li (CHN – 17:12) took the AOTC bronze medal. After five qualifying stages, almost 500 athlete dared to compete in the final race of the premiere AOTC tournament. The event, conducted under the auspice and immediate supervision of the Towerrunning World Association, has been endowed with a total cash prize purse of 7,400 USD. Dozens of media representatives and celebrities enjoyed the race and were able to convince themselves of the venue’s exceptional amenities.   Canton Tower, also referred to colloquially as “slim waist”, is 600 meters tall, with 450 meters of its main body and 150 meters of its antenna, which makes it the second-tallest tower in China. After 2580 stairs in different stairwells, connected by seven flat interchange sections, the athletes reached the finish line at the outlook terrace, encircled by the world’s highest horizontal ferris wheel. The city with its numerous skyscrapers has proved to be a perfect playground for China’s first Towerrunning circuit organized by Rings Sport Marketing. As Canton Tower is one of the privileged members of the World Federation of Great Towers, the event also formed part of the WFGT Towerrunning Challenge series. Jiajing Ou and Wenfei Xie, overall winners of the 2014 & 2015 GuangZhou Vertical Marathon Series, were awarded with a round-trip to the joint grand finale of the WFGT Towerrunning Challenge and Towerrunning World Cup in Vienna on January 24.   English news by towerrunning association Photo Sebastian Wurster