More than 200 athletes have climbed the 2,180 solidarity steps for children at risk cared for in Sant Joan de Déu
Record participation in the 'Inclusive' and 'Som Un Equip' categories
The best time was achieved by Enrique Santamaria with 12:18 minutes in the men's category and Rosa Maria Nieto with 14:51 in the women's category
The rain has not prevented the V Vertical Montserrat from being held today, Saturday May 20 at 9:00 a.m., the most demanding vertical race in Spain, in which almost 220 participants have climbed the 2,180 steps that separate the lower station from the Santa Cova de Montserrat Funicular from the upper station of the Sant Joan Funicular of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) exceeding 388 meters of unevenness.
The winners in the 'Open' category have been Enrique Santamaria with 12:18 minutes and Rosa Maria Nieto with 14:51. The Vertical Montserrat is part of and is scored by the National Vertical Racing Circuit (CCV).
In this fifth edition, 57 firefighters from different bodies have participated: Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona Firefighters, Madrid City Council Firefighters, Madrid Community Firefighters, Zaragoza County Council Firefighters, Jaén City Council Firefighters, SEPEI Cáceres County Council and Firefighters Consortium Cadiz province. They have climbed the 2,180 uniformed steps with the intervention team that weighs about 23 kg.
The best time achieved in the 'Bombers' category was once again by Joan Freixa from the Generalitat Fire Department (Guardiola de Berguedà Fire Station) with a time of 17:48 minutes, thus surpassing the test record that he himself holds for one second. This is the second year that firefighters have participated, 7 in total, and the prize for the best firefighter went to Clara Nierga from the Generalitat Fire Department (Parc Maçanet de la Selva) with a time of 25:57. She has been able to beat the 28:35 of Stefania Brunazzi of the Generalitat Fire Brigade last year.
This is the first year where 9 athletes participate in the 'Inclusive' category, making Javier Martínez Monteagudo, with a mark of 19:35, the best time in the visual modality and Jaume Cañellas with 17:48 in the physical. In the female visual category, Maria Petit has completed a time of 22:53. Visually impaired people have been accompanied by a sighted guide and joined by a directional bar. In this way, Vertical Montserrat continues to contribute to the inclusion of people with different disabilities through the practice of sport.
In the most supportive category, that of 'Som Un Equip' (SUE), the number of registered has also increased with a total of 25, 50% more than last year. Aimed at people, companies, schools, sports clubs and other organizations, they have participated with two runners who have represented them afterwards, having achieved a solidarity challenge of €500. As a novelty, in this fifth edition, 2 SUE teams made up of firefighters have participated, winning the one sponsored by Ametller Orígen. The winners have been in the mixed SUE modality the Escuela Cooperativa el Puig, in the male SUE modality the Aéreo de Montserrat - Montserrat Natural Park, and in the female SUE, Transport x Cable. In this way, solidarity in this 2023 edition also goes up one more step.
You can check all the time and classification on the SportManiacs website and soon on the website verticalmontserrat.org
Created in 2017 by the Firefighters of the Generalitat de Catalunya and organized jointly with the Obra Social de Sant Joan de Déu, it is part of the Firefighters with a Cause project. It has the support of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Montserrat Abbey and the Montserrat Mountain Board and the collaboration, among others, of the Barcelona Fire Department, the Red Cross of Catalonia, the Federation of Excursionist Entities of Catalonia, the "La Caixa" and Airbox.
In these 5 editions, Vertical Montserrat has always had the firm objective of raising funds to finance research projects on childhood diseases and social care programs for children at risk of exclusion cared for in the various centers of Sant Joan de Déu. And, at the same time, promote the inclusion of people with disabilities.
The ambassador of the Vertical Montserrat of 2023 has been the journalist Cristina Riba who has developed a large part of her professional career on Televisió de Catalunya, where since 2017 she has presented Telenotícies Cap de Setmana.
In addition, for the second consecutive year, a live broadcast has been carried out through La Xarxa TV for local television channels throughout Catalonia and by streaming from their digital platforms. It has also been seen in the Monastery square, where the awards ceremony took place and a giant screen has been installed.
The Minister of the Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, who attended accompanied by Toni Segarra, president of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Joan Delort, general director of Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue, Xavier Aparicio, did not want to miss the race. manager of the Montserrat Mountain Board, Father Ignasi Fossas of the Montserrat Abbey, Juanjo Ortega of the Obra Social Sant Joan de Déu and Miquel Solà, mayor of Collbató, among other authorities.
For those people who still want to collaborate, a 'Dorsal Zero' has been enabled that will be operational until the week after the race is held.
Additional material:
- Compacted video images:
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/dc18522ee762a6fc8e2072521b8f6b8a20230520104114/be6cf969472403589e7c81e1c18c0cfc2023012 - Images: https://we.tl/t-LJw4kJjdM7
- Dorsal Zero: https://verticalmontserrat.org/dorsalzero
Social networks
Twitter: @verticalmont
Facebook: @verticalmontserrat - #VerticalMontserrat
Instagram: @BombersAmbCaus
