The IFSC Speed World Cup got off to a spectacular start in Salt Lake City, USA. The two Indonesians Veddriq Leonardo and Kiromal Katibin undercut the previous speed record several times within a few hours.
The first highlight of the day was 20-year-old Kiromal Katibin, who in the first race of the qualifying round pulverized the previous men's world speed record with 5.258 seconds, while his teammate finished in second place at 5.375 - also below the previous mark.
Beat the previous world record a third time
In the eagerly awaited race for gold in the final round, Leonardo (24) finally shot up the 15-meter wall, took the lead right from the start and prevailed against his team-mate with a time of 5.208 seconds.
With that he set a new world record in speed climbing. "I'm very happy about this gold medal and the world record today," said Leonardo immediately after the final. "It was unbelievable to compete at the side of my teammate."
We didn't come here to win, we came to break records.
Veddriq Leonardo
Bronze went to Marcin Dzienski (28) from Poland, who defeated home favorite John Brosler (24) in a neck-and-neck race. John slipped on some moves and finished fourth with 6.891, Marcin took the bronze medal with a time of 5.842.
Here Veddriq Leonardo sets the new world speed record
Gold for Poland among women
In the women's category, 27-year-old Aleksandra Miroslaw won the IFSC gold medal in speed climbing. The reigning speed world champion met the American Emma Hunt (18) in the last duel and took first place with 7.382 seconds against the 7,539 seconds of her rival.
For the first time ever, thanks to Hunt's silver medal, an athlete from the United States won a medal in the speed discipline.
"To be honest, I didn't know what to expect," commented Miroslaw. “I come from an injury that I sustained at the European Championships last year. I made a little mistake in the last race and that stressed me out a bit, but I'm happy and excited because I felt really fast, my finger felt good. It is unbelievable to compete in front of this audience. "
I'm pretty happy and excited because I felt really fast, my finger felt good. It's incredible to compete in front of this audience.
Aleksandra Miroslaw
The women's podium was completed by the 24-year-old Japanese Miho Nonaka, who showed an incredible performance and secured the bronze medal with 8.958 seconds. The Polish Patrycja Chudziak (23) took fourth place with a time of 10.401 seconds.
Salt Lake City Speed Climbing World Cup in the repetition
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Credits: Cover picture IFSC Climbing