Both Speed world record holders, Aleksandra Miroslaw and Sam Watson, took gold at the IFSC World Cup in Chamonix, France with some redemption, for different reasons, from the last event in Kraków, Poland.

Miroslaw took a bronze medal in Poland, but in her home country she really wanted the top spot, in Chamonix she returned to that position.

The Olympic champion was hovering around the 6.4s mark for the finals rounds but pulled out a 6.19s gold medal race run to beat the world champion and IFSC World Cup Kraków winner, Indonesia’s Desak Dewi who posted a 6.46s for the silver.

For Miroslaw, Chamonix has been good to her, and she has a lot of history in the French town: “I actually return here after seven years as my last Chamonix World Cup was in 2018 when I also won, so I’m happy because Chamonix is very special. My first gold was here also, so it’s like the cycle of history.”

Miroslaw was nursing a bit of an injury and looked in a little discomfort in the qualification round, but fingers crossed it’s not too serious with a World Championships on the horizon: “It’s not a new injury. I had it before Tokyo [2020] and then it was ok, but now it’s back. But I have two months now to recover before the World Champs.”

Talking about her silver Dewi said: “I’m sad because I made some mistakes in my climbing, but I’m still happy as it’s the second medal in two events.”

With Dewi and Miroslaw both on the podium in Kraków and now Chamonix, it was down to USA’s Emma Hunt to complete the set once more, and she did by taking bronze.

On her bronze medal, Hunt said: “I’m happy because it’s a medal, a personal record and a new Pan American record, which I forgot about.

“It’s so special because it’s the first competition that my whole family has been to where I’ve medalled, so it’s a special place.”

Hunt’s new PB and Pan American record of 6.25s came in the quarter-final, but it was a 6.35s which secured her medal in a neck and neck race with China’s Qin Yumei who posted a 6.36s – a great result in only her third World Cup.

Full women’s qualification Speed results here

While Miroslaw was disappointed with a bronze in Kraków, Watson had to put a false start behind him in Poland – and he did it in style by flipping it around for the fifth gold of his career.

Watson looked focussed and determined to win in Chamonix and defend the gold he won last year.

Talking about his win Watson said: “This is the crown jewel of the World Cup circuit here in Chamonix. It’s my second time, so a repeat of last year, and this one meant a lot.”

Everyone knows Watson is fast, but in Speed you also need to be consistent – and Watson was that also. Every finals run was under five seconds, and in the gold medal race he was very close to his personal best.

“The funny thing is that a 4.65 with a 1.90 reaction time, legally I could have gone 0.09 faster and got the world record,” said Watson, “but it’s quite poetic considering my false start at the last one and my slow and cautious reaction times this comp. But records will fall in the future and I’m happy to be on the top step of the podium.”

Watson’s opponent in the gold medal race was Kazakhstan’s Rishat Khaibullin who was getting his personal best times down and down. A 4.88s in the quarter-final was followed by a 4.83s in the semi-final, but the gold medal race was just one run to far.

Khaibullin posted a 4.87s for silver against Watson’s 4.65s. The silver for Khaibullin was the second of his career, with both coming in Chamonix – his first was in 2023.

Talking after winning his medal Khaibullin said: “I’m a little bit tired but I am so excited after this competition. It’s a wonderful place for a World Cup so I really enjoy it.”

Khaibullin’s opponent in the semi-final was USA’s Zach Hammer. The loss to Khaibullin meant Hammer had to win the bronze medal race against Spain’s Erik Noya Cardona who had lost to Watson.

Hammer won the affair with a 4.96s to Noya Cardona’s 5.08s, and after said: “It means so much. Obviously, I loved Denver but it was a bit unfortunate that it got rained out, so it means a lot to get a podium after doing a full round of competition.”

Full men’s qualification Speed results here

The IFSC Speed World Cup will now move on to Guiyang, China in September while Chamonix will crown the Lead medallists tomorrow.

News and updates about the event will be available on the IFSC website and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.