Suzy Walsham and Piotr Lobodzinski retained their Vertical World Circuit (VWC) titles yesterday at the grand finale in Osaka, Japan.
It was the eighth straight title for Australia’s Walsham, who first won the series back in 2012, and a sixth title for Piotr Lobodzinski.
The ten-event series has seen close races around the world throughout 2019. Starting in Seoul back in April, runners have since done battle in Milan, Ho Chi Minh City, Paris, New York, London, Beijing, Shanghai and Dubai before the final race on Sunday (Nov. 10) in Osaka.
The 1,610-step Abeno Harukas was the venue for the final event.
Heading into the race, Lobodzinski needed to place at least second to be certain of retaining his title. With a resurgent Mark Bourne (AUS) in the mix, and Ryoji Watanabe (JPN) seeking his first VWC title it was not an easy situation for the Polish world champion.
But in the end he did enough. Mark Bourne took the win with a new course record of 8:29 and Lobodzinski followed in 8:43. His second-place finish enough to earn him the overall Vertical World Circuit 2019 crown.
Harukas Skyrun men’s results:
- Mark Bourne (AUS) – 8:29
- Piotr Lobodzinski (POL) – 8:43
- Ryoji Watanabe (JPN) – 9:02
- Kato Satoshi (JPN) – 9:19
- Liang Liang He (CHN) – 9:41
‘Of course, I wanted to win today, but my shape is not as good as in spring. Mark was better and I had no chance to win the race but the points I collected in the first part of the season were enough to secure my sixth title in a row so I’m very happy and glad to be on top for so long,’ Lobodzinski told reporters after the race.
Eight straight for Walsham
In the final of the women’s event, Suzy Walsham only needed to finish in fifth place to be sure of winning an incredible eighth VWC title.
Giving her the title, then, was in part mere formality, as you probably have to go back to 2011 to find the last time the Australian star didn’t finish on the podium at a tower run.
But the race still had to be run and Walsham put in a blistering performance to take the win and finish in 10:18, just four seconds off the course record set by Japan’s Yuri Yoshizumi in 2017.
Harukas Skyrun women’s results:
- Suzy Walsham (AUS) – 10:18:
- Laura Manninen (FIN) – 11:07
- Yuko Tateishi (JPN) – 11:30
- Kumi Kinoshita (JPN) – 11:59
- Mie Takahashi (JPN) – 12:02
‘I’m thrilled to win here in Osaka at the 2019 Vertical World Circuit final and achieve my eighth straight world title,’ said Walsham. ‘I had a strong run, although I was a little disappointed to just miss the record, but it’s hard to be at your absolute peak for every race. It’s been a great year of racing and I’m already looking forward to VWC 2020!’
2019 Vertical World Circuit final standings:
Men
- Piotr Lobodzinski (POL) – 567 points
- Mark Bourne (AUS) – 561 points
- Ryoji Watanabe (JPN) – 539.5 points
- Emanuele Manzi (ITA) – 454 points
- Omar Bekkali (BEL) – 420 points
Women
- Suzy Walsham (AUS) – 600 points
- Laura Manninen (FIN) – 533 points
- Yuko Tateishi (JPN) – 461.5 points
- Sarah Frost (GBR) – 449.5 points
- Cristina Bonacina (ITA) – 359 points