Made in Jingdezhen · 2024 Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon Kicks off

　　On November 24, the highly anticipated Made in Jingdezhen · 2024 Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon officially kicked off at the Shanghai Tower. A total of 2,000 participants from around the world gathered to "race to the top of Shanghai", measuring China's tallest building with their footsteps.

　　Five Sessions of Continuous Innovation and Development

　　This year's event marks the fifth session of the Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon since its inception in 2017. Under the guidance of the Shanghai Sports Federation, the Shanghai Pudong New Area Government, and the Shanghai Chengtou Group Corporation, the event was hosted by the Shanghai Tower. The Samaranch Foundation, the Publicity Department of CPC Pudong New Area Committee (Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau), and the Lujiazui Administration Bureau provided support for the event, which has received certification from the Shanghai Administration of Sports as a significant international and domestic sports event for the year.

　　As a significant international competition independently organized by the Shanghai Tower, the marathon hosting standard and event capabilities have been steadily advanced. It has been authorized by the Tower Running Association (TWA), a leading authority in the promotion of vertical marathons, and has been certified as the top-tier “TowerRunning240” level in terms of race points. Furthermore, it holds the records for “the highest competition altitude in TWA history” and “the highest skyscraper hosting a TWA event”, making it a top-level event with the largest scale, highest points, and tallest competition building in the world.

　　Over the years, the Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon has continuously introduced innovations in event concepts, formats, and service content. This June, it successfully held the world's first women's vertical marathon, attracting significant attention from all walks of life. The Shanghai Tower has also proactively worked on standardizing event services. The world’s first group standard for vertical marathon event services, drafted by the Shanghai Tower as the primary preparer, together with the Shanghai Audit Center of Quality System and other organizations, was officially released in October.

　　Juan Antonio Samaranch, Jr., vice president of the International Olympic Committee, founder and honorary chairman of the Samaranch Foundation, and ambassador for the Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon, shared his congratulations for the event via a video. He remarked, "To the challengers of 2024, I have just one piece of advice: Keep moving forward, keep climbing, and feel the strength of China’s tallest building."

　　After the starting gun was fired, Olympic champion Zhong Tianshi and representatives from the Lujiazui climbing group set off as leading guests. This year's event offered a total of 2,000 spots for participants, divided into two main categories: individual full-course climbs and individual fun climbs. A total of 2,000 athletes from over 20 countries and regions, such as China, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia, competed in the event, including many of the world’s top ten vertical marathon climbers. In the end, Japanese athlete Ryoji Watanabe completed the climb in 18 minutes, winning the men's individual championship. The women’s individual champion title was claimed by Croatia’s Tea Faber, who finished the climb in 21 minutes and 26 seconds.

　　To encourage and motivate the participation of Chinese athletes, the event established the Special Award for Chinese Athletes, aimed at attracting more outstanding Chinese athletes to this sport. This award was claimed by Zeng Wenbo in the men's group and Jian Muhua in the women's group.

　　The Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon introduced an individual fun climb category in 2019, aiming to provide a broader audience with the opportunity to experience the joy of vertical marathon sport. This initiative has garnered positive feedback from a diverse range of participants. The category only requires participants to climb from the 1st floor to the 22nd floor, after which they can take the elevator directly to the Top of Shanghai Observatory on the 119th floor to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The combination of exercise and sightseeing appealed to people of various age groups. Many participants bring their families to take part in the event, seeing it as a good opportunity to enhance the parent-child relationship. This year, Shanghai Tower set up two special sessions for individual fun climbs, one at sunset and one in the evening, in order to allow more people to experience the charm of the vertical marathon. Despite the increase in sessions, the spots were still in high demand: As soon as registration opened, all 700 spots were quickly taken.

　　The Crossover Integration of "Sports + Art"

　　The 2024 Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon was exclusively sponsored by the official flagship store of Jingdezhen Ceramics. The two parties have collaborated to create a unique commemorative ceramic version of trophies and medals, symbolizing the perfect integration of a millennium of ceramic culture with modern sporting spirit. The main body of the trophies is ceramic, inspired by the streamlined appearance of the Shanghai Tower. It perfectly combines the straightness of modern architecture with the warmth of ceramic art to create a unique texture as smooth as jade. The medals were crafted by embedding metal within ceramics, featuring a metal piece shaped like an ascending staircase that fits into the ceramic design, combining the warmth of ceramic with the strength of metal—a truly refreshing take. The surfaces of the trophies and medals were meticulously carved with key figures of the vertical marathon event, creatively displaying the track information: 3,398 steps, 119 floors, and 552 meters of vertical height. The cooperation between Shanghai Tower and Jingdezhen is not only dialogue and collision between modern sports and traditional culture but also cross-border cooperation of "sports + art", as well as an excellent practical case of Shanghai Tower to promote the integrated development of business, tourism, and culture and sports with high-quality events.

　　To create a more positive atmosphere for the event, Shanghai Tower has also introduced the sculpture "Peak of Ideal" by Mr. Julien Malland (Seth), a famous French artist, as one of the important measures to integrate sports and art. The artwork features vibrant elements inspired by building blocks, illustrating a young boy sitting atop a skyscraper, looking up dreamily and lost in the clouds. Centered on the theme of ideals, the piece seeks to evoke nostalgic memories of childhood, highlighting a commitment to one’s dreams and a courageous exploration into the unknown, while embodying the spirit of striving upward with a positive attitude. The sculpture was placed on the route that vertical marathon participants passed, resonating with the event's spirit of climbing higher and challenging limits, inspiring competitors to forge ahead fearlessly and transcend their selves.

　　This year's event incorporated not only the crossover of "sports + art", but also the integration of "sports + digitization". Notably, Shanghai Tower has combined sports events with blockchain technology. In 2023, digital medals were produced for the event, and they were again introduced based on blockchain technology for permanent collection by this year's competitors.

　　Heartwarming Moments Brought by Special Companionship

　　Since its establishment, the Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon has consistently infused charitable elements into the event. For this year's event, the Shanghai Tower has once again partnered with the Shanghai United Foundation to support charitable initiatives through the marathon. Additionally, this year’s event saw the participation of a special group of individuals: three visually impaired climbers and three volunteer guides, who took the full-course category. They are members of a national visually impaired public welfare running project. The visually impaired athletes, under the guidance of their accompanying climbers, challenged their limits together, demonstrated extraordinary perseverance and trust, and successfully completed the marathon, ultimately "racing to the top of Shanghai" together. In the afternoon's individual fun climb category, the Shanghai Tower partnered with the CPIC Blue Foundation, the Huangpu Disabled Persons’ Federation, and the Luwan Special Experimental School Affiliated to East China Normal University to host a charity event titled “Starlight in Motion: Courageously Climbing to New Heights”. A group of children requiring special support were invited to join the climb, allowing them to step on the stairs of this international vertical marathon with the help of volunteers and experience the joy of sports.

　　The event wrapped up at 20:00 that evening, with many participants feeling that they were not ready to end and eagerly anticipating the next session of the vertical marathon. The Shanghai Tower plans to build on this event brand to further elevate the hosting capabilities and standards of future events, offering a higher standard and more international experience in an all-round manner. It aims to provide athletes from around the world with greater opportunities to showcase their competence and push their limits, fully supporting the development of a leading country in sports. In doing so, it will highlight the city’s culture and soft power, contributing to Shanghai’s vision of becoming a global sports capital.