INDONESIA SWEEPS THE MEN’S SPEED PODIUM, MIROSLAW PUTS THE ICING ON HER CAKE

An eventful opening day at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup in Seoul, South Korea, closed with the Indonesian and Polish national anthems resounding in the wonderful Jungnang Sport Climbing Stadium.

A trio of talented Indonesian climbers led by Veddriq Leonardo took the top three positions in the men’s Speed event, with Leonardo securing first place thanks to his teammate Kiromal Katibin’s false start in the race for the gold medal.

“Obviously I’m super happy, and quite excited as well, because it is the first competition of the season,” commented Leonardo. “I felt very confident throughout the entire final, it feels incredible!”

Despite the anticlimactic and disappointing finale, Katibin could console himself with the men’s Speed world record he set during the qualification round, when he stopped the clock at 5.17 seconds – three hundredths of a second quicker than the previous mark, set by Leonardo at last year’s World Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

The men’s podium was completed by a third Indonesian climber – Rahmad Adi – who bested Ludovico Fossali of Italy in the small final and won bronze.

For the full results of the men’s Speed event click here.

220506 IFSC News Indonesia sweeps the mens Speed podium Miroslaw puts the icy on her cake 01The podium of the men's Speed event at the IFSC World Cup in Seoul (KOR)
Photo: Dimitris Tosidis/IFSC

In the women’s Speed event, Polish Olympian Aleksandra Miroslaw secured the top of the podium at an IFSC World Cup for the sixth time in her career. Miroslaw, a multi-decorated Speed specialist, prevailed over Emma Hunt of the United States of America in the final race, closing with the impressive time of 6.72 seconds.

An even more impressive time was set by Miroslaw in the qualification round, where he crushed the world record she set at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – 6.84 – and hit the finish pad at 6.64 seconds.

“I am very happy, of course, but it hasn’t been my best final,” Miroslaw said. “ I made a lot of mistakes in the first couple of rounds, but the semi-final and the final were pretty good. The mindset was completely different from the qualification, where I set the world record, everyone knows you’re the fastest one and you have to deal with a lot of pressure.”

Aleksandra Kalucka – also of Poland – placed third, beating Franziska Ritter of Germany in the race for bronze.

For the full results of the women’s Speed event click here.

220506 IFSC News Indonesia sweeps the mens Speed podium Miroslaw puts the icy on her cake 02The podium of the women's Speed event at the IFSC World Cup in Seoul (KOR)
Photo: Dimitris Tosidis/IFSC

The IFSC World Cup in Seoul will continue tomorrow, with the women’s Boulder qualifications starting at 9:00 AM (UTC+9:00), and the men’s Boulder qualifications starting at 4:15 PM. The Boulder finals will take place on Sunday, 8 May.

For information about broadcasting and live streaming of the event click here. News and updates about the event will also be available on the IFSC website, and on the Federation’s social media channels: FacebookInstagram, and Twitter.

IFSC Press Release

© 2019 ifsc-climbing.org    All Rights Reserved