31 October 2012, Singapore – The MediaCorp Subaru Challenge 2012 – The Asian Face-Off came to aclose today, with 42-year-old Singaporean Gan Yu Shen Tholmas taking top honours in a grueling 78 hours 30 minutes face-off, clocking the second longest winning time in the 11 years of the Challenge.
At around 2.30pm, contestants from the regional teams and Singapore were neck-to-neck with four on each side vying to win the top prize of a Subaru car.
In the end, the third-time participant who works as a software engineer, Gan Yu Shen Tholmas, finally edged out his rivals in a marathon event that fell just short of the 80-hour 32-minute record set in 2008.
Mr Glenn Tan, Executive Director, Tan Chong International Ltd and Ms Dahlia Z, Vice President, English Programming (Music), MediaCorp, presented the coveted prize, a Subaru XV 1.6 worth S$80,800 (without COE) to a surprisingly still-lucid Mr Gan.
Runner up, Mr G Jaishanker received a S$5,000 cash prize. The 47-year-old catering officer is a first-time participant in the challenge and he promised to return next year.
Mr Gan (the winner) said, “I am very excited to be the winner since this is my third time participating in the challenge for three consecutive years. I am really happy to win the car and I can’t wait to see my family after being away for four days.”
The last-standing regional contestant, Samach Tepsen from Thailand walked away with S$5,000 in cash and the title of Asian Winner. He was also the second runner-up with a timing of 76 hours 8 minutes.
Over 78 hours of pure endurance and determination. I applaud Mr Gan for his tenacity.
