The XVIII Vertical Climb to the Bali Hotel continues to grow and with the maximum quota of 500 registered

Benidorm will once again host this coming Saturday one of the most consolidated events on the city's calendar and one of the most prestigious internationally. This is the 18th edition of the Vertical Climb to the great Hotel Bali, the highest hotel in Europe included in the Towerrunning World Association World Circuit.

The success is guaranteed as witnessed by the fact that the registration limit set by the organization, 500 participants, was completed one month before the race was held. This morning the presentation of the Vertical Climb took place at City Hall by the Sports Councilor, Javier Jordá, who was accompanied by Miquel Tortosa, technical director of the test, and Jerónimo Llinares, commercial director of Bali Hotel.

“It is a unique event in Spain,” said the councillor, who added that for Benidorm “it is a great pleasure to host a very consolidated race” that distributes important cash prizes and “bonuses for breaking current records in elite male and female categories.”

Miquel Tortosa recalled that the Vertical Climb was resumed last year after three years without being celebrated due to the pandemic "and it was a complete success." “Now,” he added, “the registrations have been taken.”

The Bali Hotel Vertical Climb will have three categories: Equipped Firefighters, Open and Elite. In the first, 116 firefighters compete, who, with the intervention equipment and oxygen bottles, carry an approximate weight of 25 kilos. The second category is open to anyone who wishes to sign up and the third, Elite, will have 42 athletes participating in the world circuit.

Tortosa specified that the firefighters will start three by three, in the Open category the start will be four by four athletes and, finally, in the Elite category, the runners will go one by one and will start in reverse order of their classification in the world circuit of this speciality.

The firefighters are scheduled to leave at ten in the morning. One hour later it will be the turn of the Open category and at noon the participants in the Elite category will start. The Bali hotel has 52 floors 924 steps, and a gradient of 190 meters.

For this edition, there are confirmed participants from 42 countries such as Spain, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Canada, Mexico, Slovakia, Croatia, England, Poland, Australia, etc.

More than 3,000 euros have been established in cash prizes and, as has been said, a bonus in case of surpassing the race records. In the men's category, it has been held by Christian Riedl since 2018 with a time of 4'20" and in the women's category it is held by Suzy Walsham, who in 2019 stopped the clock at 5'31".