Congratulations to former AFL Boundary umpire Darren Wilson who won the 2017 T2T Tower Climb in One World Trade Centre in New York City on Sunday 4 June.
Darren completed the run in 12:19 smashing the previous record by a staggering 2 minutes and 7 seconds. Darren finished the race in first place but a protest was upheld by second place-getter Thomas Dold who, due to a missing marshall, ran the wrong way. Darren, showing his true sportsmanship shared the first place dais with Thomas.
The climb is held to honor the memory of Stephen Siller who laid down his life to save others on 11 September 2001.
As a firefighter, this race has special meaning for Darren “It was the most emotional I have felt before and during a race – the thoughts of what the building stands for. Once at the top, after the initial exhaustion, it was amazing with the sun rising as you looked uptown.” Certainly, a 5 am race start has its advantages.
The two winning men raced at a speed of 1,926 metres per hour, one of the fastest times in a building over 100m tall. The race climbs 104 floors starting two levels below ground and counts a lung-busting 2,226 steps.
Article written by: AFLUA Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Peter Kelly
