MEN’S SPEED FINAL

Chu Shouhong of China – gold medallist with 4.80:

About his performance in the final: “I’m very happy to have won this gold medal. I would also like to express my gratitude to my opponent, Sam Watson, it was him that pushed me to the limit and to give my best. I hope our team can have other satisfying results in the next two days and win more golds.”

Samuel Watson of the USA – silver medallist with 4.96:

About his plan for the rest of the Climbing programme at Chengdu 2025: “I will take tomorrow off and I’m going to do the relay on Saturday, I opted to do this to manage the injury and to be at my best for that event. I’m excited to compete as a team with Zach. I’m going to get some work done on the shoulders, get some rest, and support my team tomorrow.”

About his climb in the gold medal race: “I think with this current injury I have an impediment on my shoulder. At the very top move I felt it was kind of floppy, for lack of a better word. The last pinch move is very intense on the left shoulder and triceps, and on that last one I was trying to go all out, but I think I just missed something and was a little disconnected. But that’s fine, I think I climbed at the best of my abilities today.”

About his opponent in the gold medal race: “The biggest congratulations go to Chu Shouhong for succeeding and set a new personal best, I think he’s an incredible athlete and did a very good job.”

Long Jianguo of China – bronze medallist with 4.83:

About his performance in the final: “I think I could have performed better, but it’s still good to have won the bronze medal. I would like to thank our coaches and the entire staff for their efforts. I think our team today performed at their best.”

WOMEN’S SPEED FINAL

Deng Lijuan of China – gold medallist with 6.40:

About her performance in the final: “It was very nice to see the three Chinese flags on the podium and to hear the anthem played twice. I would like to thank my team for their support and help, it was great to take all three medals as a team, I wish we can get more in the next two days.”

MEN’S SPEED QUALIFICATION

Samuel Watson of the USA – 11th with 5.16:

About his performance in the qualification: “I’m currently dealing with an injury on my shoulder, I was on the phone with my physio up until 15 minutes ago, trying to figure out what the best option was, but I made it to final so we’re happy. Every competition is a good challenge, I’m looking forward to progressing tonight and have each lap go faster.”

WOMEN’S SPEED QUALIFICATION

Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi of Indonesia – second with 6.50:

About her performance in the qualification: “I have enjoyed qualification, but the wall was a bit slippery. It reminded me of the wall in Jakarta, even though the conditions are more similar to this year’s World Cup in Bali! Tonight I will focus on enjoying the final and finding the best performance.”

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, Bilibili, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.