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Race to the top of Burj Khalifa: Dubai's Gov Games sees teams from around the world climb tallest building

The event, designed to push the limits of human endurance, strategic thinking and teamwork, formed part of the ‘Battle of the Cities’ category

The Gov Games took its fifth edition to unprecedented heights this year with a new, bonus round of the competition featuring teams from around the world competing in a race up the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The contest held today, a day ahead of the fifth edition of the Gov Games (February 29 – March 3), saw teams from Kutná Hora, Czech Republic; Oviedo, Spain; and Copenhagen, Denmark achieving 16 bonus points, recording 27:39.51 minutes, 27:39.90 minutes, and 28:18.85 minutes, respectively.

The event, designed to push the limits of human endurance, strategic thinking and teamwork, formed part of the ‘Battle of the Cities’ category.

By introducing the Burj Khalifa Climb to its roster, the Gov Games – which has become known for its innovative and challenging events – offered global competitors the unique opportunity to earn pre-event bonus points. The new contest ensured that this year’s Gov Games gets off to an electrifying, high-octane start.

The Burj Khalifa challenge featured international teams, each consisting of five athletes tethered together by a single rope as they climbed the 160 floors of the 828-metre tall megastructure.

The competing teams, which have qualified for the Gov Games Finals, represented cities across four continents, including London, Brisbane, Colorado, and Copenhagen.

Marwan bin Essa, Director of Gov Games, said: “The Burj Challenge takes our competition beyond a physical challenge. It stands as a symbol for how competitors can push their boundaries and break new barriers when they work together with a shared bond and drive that can take them to the top.

“At the Gov Games, we believe that the pursuit of health and fitness, can turn the seemingly impossible into the possible. The Burj Challenge is a testament to the unconquerable human spirit and our determination to set our sights high, climb higher and achieve more than we knew we were capable of.

He added: “We are excited to see the 2024 Gov Games teams work together in this new, exciting challenge in the competition, and achieve great things together.”

Bin Essa also expressed his gratitude to Emaar for supporting the first Burj Challenge for teams, emphasizing that the efforts they provided contributed to giving the event additional momentum.

For the bonus Gov Games event, The Burj Challenge, a time limit has not been set. Instead, the organisers are focusing on fostering teamwork, encouraging strategy and encouraging the ultimate goal of making it to the top as one team.

Teams were scored based on the time of the last arriving team member, ensuring that every step taken is a collective effort. Any points awarded during the Burj climb will be added to the team’s scores in the ‘Battle of the Cities’ category of the Games.

In its fifth edition, Gov Games is hosting international teams in the Battle of the Cities category, representing the UAE, Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, Uzbekistan, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Slovakia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, France, and Portugal.

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