SINGAPORE - The parkour competition was won by someone who used to be scared of heights. The Superfly Parkour Showdown 2013, held yesterday at Suntec Convention Centre, is believed to be the first such competition held here.
It was part of License2Play 2013, a gaming and youth lifestyle exhibition organised by Sphere Exhibits. Of the 21 traceurs, or parkour practitioners, Filipino Jowenson Ian, 24, who once had a fear of heights, emerged the winner.
You wouldn't have known, seeing him effortlessly scale and leap off the top of a metre-high scaffolding. He beat his rivals from Singapore, Malaysia and Japan to clinch the title.
Mr Jowenson won a trophy, $100 worth of vouchers from The Brat restaurant, a pair of $99 parkour shoes and a six-pack each of Coke Zero and Red Bull.
The crowd of about 60 watched these urban acrobats as they flipped and rolled through the obstacle course, which included plywood blocks and a metre-high scaffolding.
One 10-year-old in the crowd even exclaimed: "Wah! They're like SpiderMan!"
The participants were tested on their speed, strength and skill of the sport through five challenges.
These included testing their speed at clearing the obstacle course and seeing who could jump the furthest.
The most challenging stunt involved tying two participants together at their wrists and blindfolding one of them.
WINNER
They were then supposed to clear the course as quickly as possible.
Mr Jowenson came in second for most of the challenges.
The Filipino, who has been involved in the sport for at least four years, said: "I came to Singapore with the intention to have fun with fellow traceurs. I wasn't competing with other traceurs, I was competing with friends."
Mr Jowenson fell in love with the sport when he first saw it in action on a television programme in the Philippines.
He said: "I was more interested in the jumps and stunts before I learnt about the philosophy behind the sport,
"To me, parkour is about knowing yourself and knowing what you're capable of."
Mr Derrick Siu, founder of parkour school Superfly Monkey Dragons, said: "These are trained professionals doing these stunts and you could risk serious injury if you recreate this stunts without training and experience."
mattchoo@sph.com.sg
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