British 100m track star, former BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year and Commonwealth silver medalist, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, faced an unlikely challenge over the weekend, taking on the fastest pole climber in the world in a Track vs. Tree challenge.

Harry, fresh from winning bronze at the European Championships, ran 100 metres on the track whilst pole climbing record holder Grant Gallier scaled a 25 metre pole in a stunning bid to travel faster than the star sprinter – vertically!

Both events' fastest times come in at around 10 seconds, setting up a nail biting finish.

Thousands of spectators were in attendance for the once in a lifetime race, which was held at the Husqvarna-sponsored World Pole Climbing Championships, APF 2014 (Association of Professional Foresters) in Alcester, Warwickshire.

The race resulted in a tight finish with Grant the ultimate victor posting an incredible time of 9.90 seconds, compared to Harry’s equally impressive 10.15 seconds.

Harry said: “What an amazing day. When the call came through from the guys at Husqvarna, I thought I just have to do it! This is a real sport in itself. It’s so physically tiring that you just have to applaud these guys."

Grant Gallier, 27, from Oswestry, Shropshire holds the current pole climbing record of 9.077 seconds. Grant works as a grounds keeper and has been pole climbing since 2008. He began his career as a tree surgeon before beginning pole climbing competitively.