Tower run just round the corner

The head-to-head between Polish world champion Piotr Łobodziński against German Christian Riedel, who took the European Championship away from the Pole at Rondo 1 last year, will be particularly intriguing. Piotr Łobodziński, who has won virtually everything in the world of tower-running, is determined that there will be no repeat of last year. “After last year’s defeat in the European Championship at Rondo 1 I felt angry with myself. I did not fully utilise my potential and I now I have had to wait a year for an opportunity to get my revenge on Christian on my home turf during this year’s Run to the Top of Rondo 1,” he says. “This will be our first encounter this season. The last time we competed was in Singapore in November. I won easily, but Riedl had a cold at the time. I fully respect him and I know I will have to give it my best to get revenge in Rondo 1. However, I am in good form and I only need to add a few finishing touches over the next two weeks,” claims the Pole.

However, the German runner is also keen to repeat last year’s triumph and does not attach much significance to his defeat at the hands of Łobodziński in Singapore. “Indeed, I was not at full strength at the time, I was running with a broken toe. Now I am completely healthy and my goal is to win in Warsaw. However, it needs to be remembered that along with Piotr there are also a few other contestants who are also contenders in the race. Of course, for Piotr it will be on home turf and I expect that after last year’s defeat he will be doubly motivated. It is going to be an interesting contest,” says Christian Riedl.

The favourites in the race will also include:

Tomáš Čelko (Slovakia) – no. 4 in the global rankings

Štefan Štefina (Slovakia) – no. 5 in the global rankings

Tomáš Maceček (Czech Republic) – no. 6 in the global rankings

The favourite among the women is last year’s winner of the European Championship, Anna Ficner of Poland, who will, however, also have to face a strong contingent of representatives of our southern neighbours:

Zuzana Krchová (Czech Republic) – second best in the global rankings

Lenka Švábíková (Czech Republic) – no. 3 in the global rankings

Kamila Chomaničová (Slovakia) – no. 8 in the global rankings

All the revenue from the starting fees will be donated to the SOS Children’s Villages in Poland association. More than PLN 150,000 has so for been raised in the six events that have so far taken place.