Rising with the Sun: World Champion Thomas van Tonder Guinness World Record Attempt
What do world champions do in a year when they aren’t able to run the best Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) event in the world, the OCR World Championships (OCRWC)? If you are 100m OCR World Champion Thomas van Tonder you create your own challenge and try to set a Guinness World Record in the process.
In November of 2020, after months of planning and training Thomas attempted to set a world record for the fastest 50 meter rope climb. But that’s not enough he also wanted to have the tallest rope climb in the world at 95 meters. The Red Bull TV documentary tells the story of this event you have to see to believe.
Although Thomas was the first 100m OCR World Champion, he excels in all the distances offered by OCRWC including the 3k, 15k and Team Relay. With 5x top five finishes in the 15k, a pro team podium and a podium finish plus a 4th place finish in the 3k Thomas is truly a well rounded OCR athlete even in the most competitive of the elite fields.
If you want a shot at the 100m title like Thomas, make sure you come to the most epic OCR event in the world for OCRWC at Stratton Vermont. In the meantime, to keep motivation high, you can check out the 15 minute Red Bull produced documentary about Thomas’ world record attempt.