On the 12th of November 2014, the MediaCorp Subaru Challenge 2014 came to a dramatic finish, with 50-year-old Singaporean catering officer, G. Jaishanker emerging as the champion and setting a new Challenge record time of 82 hours and 16 minutes after the runner up, Analiza Binte Mokhtar, dropped out.
He received the title of overall winner and the grand prize of an all-new Subaru Forester 2.0i Premium worth S$85,000 (without COE). The last four finalists all broke the record of 81 hours and 32 minutes set by Singaporean George Lee in 2008.
G. Jaishanker showed no signs of exhaustion and continued to smile inside the arena. “I am so happy that I set a new record. George Lee is a great athlete and I focused to beat the 81 hour mark,” he mentioned.
The Challenge’s last day saw rain pouring over the competitors from morning till late in the afternoon, but this did not damper the atmosphere at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza. Family and friends filled the space with their words of motivation and encouragement, while participants managed to flash their smiles despite visible fatigue.
Presenting the all-new Subaru Forester 2.0i Premium worth S$85,000 (without COE) to a joyous G. Jaishanker was Mr Glenn Tan, Executive Director, Tan Chong International Ltd and Ms Florence Lian, Managing Director, Radio Division, MediaCorp.
As the last standing regional contestant, 34-year-old Sales Engineer Tan Hong Sheng from Malaysia won the Asian Winner title and walked away with S$5,000 cash with a time of 81 hours and 15 minutes. In his fourth year competing, Tan had broken his previous record of approximately 73 hours.
In recognition of the regional contestants’ efforts, the title of Country Winner and a cash prize of S$1,000 went to the last standing representative from each country. The Thailand team achieved the longest combined standing time (accumulated total time of all 10 representatives from the same country) of 488 hours and 13 minutes, and went home with the title of Country Team Winner along with a cash prize of S$10,000.
For more information and updates on the Subaru Palm Challenge, kindly visit the official website.
