Farmer, right, during his record-breaking climb

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- An Australian trampled the world record for vertical climbing this week, by scaling 101,934 stairs without a break.

In an amazing show of stamina, Pat Farmer, 36, sprinted up and down the 87-story staircase of Sydney's Centerpoint Tower for 24 hours straight.

Organizers of the event claimed that Farmer's performance was equivalent to going to the top of Mount Everest and back. They said that the previous vertical climbing record was set by a man in Chicago, who climbed 40,000 stairs, but had the luxury of catching an elevator back to the ground floor each time.

"A lot of people thought I was ambitious trying for 100,000 stairs, and I suppose I was," Farmer said afterward. "But anyway, I've done it now, doubled (the previous record). Yeah, more than doubled it."

A Sydney resident, Farmer used his lofty ambition to raise funds to help autistic children.

Reuters contributed to this report.