Empire State Building Run-Up Held In New York Sponsored By Turkish Airlines

Around 200 runners from 24 countries took part in the Empire State Building Run-Up on Tuesday sponsored by Turkish Airlines.

In the world's first and most famous tower race, runners climbed 1,576 stairs, or 1,050 vertical feet (320 meters), to the 86th floor of the fifth tallest building in the US for the 43rd annual event.

Wai Ching Soh from Malaysia won the men's invitational with a time of 10 minutes and 46 seconds while Cindy Harris from the US won the women's competition with 14 minutes and 1 second.

The winners were presented open tickets from Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines.

The Istanbul Education and Solidarity Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped (IZEV) with the support of Turkey's Youth and Sports Ministry participated in the race with two athletes to draw attention to the rights of the disabled.

One of the athletes who joined the race on behalf of IZEV was 61-year-old Kemal Ozdemir, who is physically disabled, and the other was Mert Onaran, an athlete involved in social responsibility projects.

The head of IZEV, Hakan Kural, told Anadolu Agency that they participated in the race to raise awareness on the rights of disabled persons. -