Self-financed Soh won the gruelling run up 104 floors at One World Trade Center in New York by a big margin, refusing to let the matter of his depleting savings bother him.

He sped up 2,226 steps in 12 minutes 46 seconds, more than four minutes ahead of the runner-up from the US.

It was his seventh first place finish in eight competitions this year in six American cities, and in Warsaw, Poland, and Dubai, where he has been based since August last year.

Since making his debut in the relatively niche sport in 2017, he has competed in 68 races worldwide, with 36 wins and 22 course records.

“I want Malaysia to be on the global stage,” said Soh, 27, the son of a taxi driver from Selayang, Kuala Lumpur, when asked why, despite facing financial problems, he kept taking part in tower running competitions which offered no prize money.

He told FMT: “Despite being low on money, I will continue to run up iconic buildings around the world not just to win the race but to fly the Jalur Gemilang high.

“My eyes well up every time Malaysia is mentioned when I am on top of the podium, especially at the races that get huge publicity like at the One World Trade Center and Empire State Building in New York.”

Soh, who became World No 1 in April, has had no financial backing since February this year because his two sponsors since 2020 chose to focus on hockey and cycling.

Left to fend for himself, he emerged victorious in runs up the M1 Hotel in Dubai (35 floors, 732 steps) and the Strat Tower in Las Vegas (108 floors, 1,455 steps) in February.

In March, he ruled two races one day after another at the Bank of America Plaza in Dallas, setting a new record over 65 floors, 1,326 steps and at the Columbus Center in Seattle (69 floors, 1,311 steps).

The following month, he was all-conquering, breaking the course records at the Three Allen Center in Houston (50 floors, 1,065 steps) and a week later at 555 California Street in San Francisco (52 floors, 1,197 steps).

His only second placing came on May 21 at the Towerrunning European Championships at Rondo 1 in Warsaw, Poland, clocking 3 minutes 41.5 seconds over 38 floors.

Soh’s next race is the Fight For Air Climb – 55 floors, 1,210 steps – on June 11 at Penn 1 in New York, where he hopes to continue his winning streak.

He wants to remain World No 1 in his sport, longer than the 349 weeks in which Malaysian badminton ace, Lee Chong Wei, reigned as the top ranked player in the world but “I need sponsorship to achieve my mission”.

There are 12 more tower runs from this month until December in the US, Australia, Germany, Japan, Estonia, and China.

His latest trip to New York for the One World Trade Center climb saw Malaysians in the US going to his aid.

Soh said Dallas-based Darren Chong, a senior project manager, whom he met in Dubai, was in New York for a short trip and invited him to stay with him from June 3-6.

Chong’s friend, Anuar Elias, from New Hampshire, who works with a major e-commerce platform, has sponsored Soh’s hotel stay in Chinatown from June 6-11.

Soh said he made the trip from Dubai to New York by redeeming the flight ticket he won at the Empire State Building run-up last year.

“It will cost me about RM1,500, mostly on food, during my time in New York and after having spent roughly RM5,000 for the European championships in Poland two weeks ago, I am hard-pressed for money,” he said.

Asked why he chose to be based in Dubai where he is renting a room, Soh said: “I get access to tall buildings here for my training and it’s easier for me to travel around the world for competitions.”

Soh said when he moved to Dubai there was no mandatory two-week quarantine and as such he could keep training on his return from overseas competitions.

The Universiti Malaya sports science graduate said the skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur were ideal for promoting the sport in the country.

“We have good tower runners in Malaysia and the sport should be considered for the KL Sea Games in 2027,” said Soh, who founded the three-year-old Malaysia TowerRuning Association of which he is the vice-president.

In the meantime as Soh goes faster and higher, he has become poorer, toiling in public anonymity.