James C. Wigginton of VBT earn ninth world record on June 1

James C. Wigginton of Van Buren Township earned his ninth world record after completing the climb of the 2,226 stair steps of One World Trade Center in New York City on June 1.
He received his certificate for the latest world record.
He said all of his nine world records have been achieved since he turned 70 and, with the exception of one, they all are competing against people of all ages.
“If a simple country boy can do big things, anyone can,” he said. “You just have to want it bad enough, adapt and overcome, and never, ever give up.”
He is the first person to climb the stairs of the tallest building in each of the 50 states in the U.S.A.
Wigginton climbed the 104 floors and 2,226 steps of what was previously known as the Freedom Tower — finishing a three-year pursuit that combined his passion for extreme physical feats with an unshakable commitment to purpose.
With this final climb, Wigginton adds his ninth world record and dedicates the achievement to two causes close to his heart: fighting cancer and supporting the families of fallen military and first responders.
“You do something big enough, and people will ask why,” said Wigginton. “Then you get to tell them.”
Wigginton said he has multiple leg injuries and took two hydrocodone before he began this last climb.
“And still, after the fifth floor, pain was like being stabbed with a Kbar every step,” he said. “I had to climb with just my left leg, so my time was horrible at one hour and six seconds.”
But he iced his leg and rested before the flight home to Michigan. An MRI later showed he had two ligament tears and sciatica in his right leg.
Why he does the climbs is personal for Wigginton.
He lost his wife Nancy to thyroid cancer in 2013 after 46 years of marriage. In her honor, he launched the Punya Thyroid Cancer Foundation and has helped raise $6 million of a $10 million goal to help researchers extend the lives of Stage 4 thyroid cancer patients.
That research — led by Drs. Megan Haymart and Frank Worden at the University of Michigan — has now helped more than 5,000 stage 4 thyroid cancer patients live five times longer than previously expected, and with a correspondingly higher quality of life.
He also climbs to raise awareness and support for Folds of Honor, an organization that provides scholarships to the spouses and children of fallen or disabled service members, and first responders. That mission is personal too: Wigginton was part of the first Red Cross team deployed to Ground Zero after 9/11.
“To finish this journey where so many heroes made the ultimate sacrifice — there’s no more meaningful place,” Wigginton said.
Though not a runner by trade, Wigginton holds the world record for fastest time to climb or descend 1 million stairs, and has made a name for himself scaling skyscrapers—often taking 15-hour travel days for a five-minute climb.
He has a photo in front of every building he’s climbed in all 50 states, culminating with his final climb in the Freedom Tower.
His past records include:
• Highest Tandem Skydive – 42,018 feet (2024), 37,417 feet (2019)
• First to Skydive from 7 Miles High and Dive to the deepest part of Challenger Deep (2020)
• Fastest to Skydive Six Continents – Triple 7 Expedition (2023)
• Fastest to Skydive All Seven Continents – Triple 7 Expedition (2023, 2019)
• Fastest Time to Climb/Descend One Million Stairs (2020)
• Now: First to Climb Tallest Building in All 50 States
Wigginton, who turned 76 this year, is a Kentucky country boy, and Vietnam era Marine, who now lives in Van Buren Township.