Speed climbing is a climbing discipline in which speed is the ultimate goal.[1] Speed climbing is done on rocks, walls and poles and is only recommended for highly skilled and experienced climbers.[2]

Competition speed climbing, which takes place on an artificial and standardized climbing wall, is the main form of speed climbing. However, there are types of speed climbing that take place outdoors, such as climbing famous big wall climbing routes in the shortest times, notable examples being on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

Competition speed climbing

Competition speed climbing as governed by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) takes place on 15-metre (49 ft) artificial walls. Competitors climb a 5-degree overhanging IFSC-certified wall, with an auto-belaying system from the top of the wall.[3]

Since 2007 the IFSC has created a standard wall for the world record. The standard has a simple rule and it involves climbers competing on the same route, side by side, and whoever reaches the top first wins.[4] The holds and order are always identical, and the difficulty rating is around F6b (approximately YDS 5.10c), which is a level most recreational climbers could complete. The IFSC also sanctions speed climbing competitions[5] and those events that entail world record attempts.[6] Speed climbing was one of the three climbing modalities included in the combined format at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, along with lead and bouldering. Beginning at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, speed climbing will be its own standalone competition, separate from the lead and bouldering combined event.[7]

Time is determined by mechanical-electric timing (the competitor leaves the starting pad and strikes a switch at the top of the route). When mechanical-electric timing is used, the climbing time is displayed with an accuracy of one-hundredth of a second. In the rules modifications in 2018, the possibility to use manual timing was removed, and the mechanical-electric timing should record with a precision of 1/1000 second. This precision is only used for ranking in case of a tie. Further, the timing system needs to announce a false start, which is considered a start earlier than 0.1 seconds after the starting beep.[8]

World champions

The defending men's and women's speed climbing world champions are Matteo Zurloni of Italy and Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi of Indonesia, respectively; they won their respective speed events at the 2023 IFSC Climbing World Championships in Bern, Switzerland.[9] Veddriq Leonardo of Indonesia and Natalia Kalucka of Poland were the overall men's and women's winners for the 2023 IFSC Climbing World Cup speed series.[10] [11]

World and Olympic records

Progression of IFSC speed climbing records to July 2022

Since Qixin Zhong of China ran the 15-meter standardized wall in 6.26 seconds in 2011, the world record has been broken 14 times, nine times since 2021, most recently 4.90 seconds by Veddriq Leonardo of Indonesia in April 2023 at the Seoul World Cup. That represents a drop of 22 percent since 2011.

Similarly, the women's speed climbing record has been broken 18 times since 2013, seven times since 2021, dropping from 7.85 seconds to the 6.25 seconds set by Aleksandra Mirosław of Poland in April 2023, a 20-percent reduction.[12]

Men's World Record History
Date Time (s) Person Location Competition
April 28, 2023 4.90[13] Indonesia Veddriq Leonardo Seoul, South Korea World Cup
April 28, 2023 4.984[14] Indonesia Veddriq Leonardo Seoul, South Korea World Cup
July 8, 2022 5.009[15] Indonesia Kiromal Katibin Chamonix, France World Cup
June 30, 2022 5.04[16] Indonesia Kiromal Katibin Villars, Switzerland World Cup
June 30, 2022 5.09[17] Indonesia Kiromal Katibin Villars, Switzerland World Cup
May 27, 2022 5.10[18][19] Indonesia Kiromal Katibin Salt Lake City, US World Cup
May 6, 2022 5.17[20] Indonesia Kiromal Katibin Seoul, South Korea World Cup
May 28, 2021 5.20[21] Indonesia Veddriq Leonardo Salt Lake City, US World Cup
May 28, 2021 5.25[22] Indonesia Kiromal Katibin Salt Lake City, US World Cup
April 30, 2017 5.48[23] Iran Reza Alipour Nanjing, China World Cup
September 12, 2014 5.60[24] Ukraine Danyil Boldyrev Gijon, Spain World Championships
August 31, 2014 5.73[25] Czech Republic Libor Hroza Arco, Italy World Cup
August 30, 2014 5.76[26] Czech Republic Libor Hroza Arco, Italy World Cup
October 13, 2012 5.88[27] Russia Evgenii Vaitcekhovskii Xining, China World Cup
August 27, 2011 6.26[28] China Qixin Zhong Arco, Italy World Championships
Men's Olympic Record History
Date Time (s) Person Location Games
August 3, 2021 5.45[29] France Bassa Mawem Aomi Urban Sports Park, Tokyo, Japan Tokyo 2020
Women's World Record History
Date Time (s) Person Location Competition
September 15, 2023 6.24[30] Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Rome, Italy IFSC European Olympic Qualifier
April 28, 2023 6.25[31]

[32]

 Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Seoul, South Korea World Cup
April 28, 2023 6.35[33]

[34]

 Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Seoul, South Korea World Cup
April 28, 2023 6.37[35] Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Seoul, South Korea World Cup
April 28, 2023 6.46[36] Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Seoul, South Korea World Cup
May 27, 2022 6.53[37][38] Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Salt Lake City, US World Cup
May 6, 2022 6.64[39] Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Seoul, South Korea World Cup
August 6, 2021 6.84[40] Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Tokyo, Japan Olympic Games
November 21, 2020 6.96[41] Russia Iuliia Kaplina Moscow, Russia European Championships
October 19, 2019 6.99[42] Indonesia Aries Susanti Rahayu Xiamen, China World Cup
April 26, 2019 7.10[43] China YiLing Song Chongqing, China World Cup
April 22, 2018 7.32[44] France Anouck Jaubert Moscow, Russia World Cup
July 22, 2017 7.32[45] Russia Iuliia Kaplina Wroclaw, Poland World Games
April 30, 2017 7.38[46] Russia Iuliia Kaplina Nanjing, China World Cup
April 23, 2017 7.46[47] Russia Iuliia Kaplina Chongqing, China World Cup
July 11, 2015 7.53[48] Russia Iuliia Kaplina Chamonix, France World Cup
June 21, 2015 7.56[49] Russia Iuliia Kaplina Chongqing, China World Cup
May 17, 2015 7.74[50] Russia Iuliia Kaplina Central Saanich, Canada World Cup
October 19, 2013 7.85[51] Russia Iuliia Kaplina Wujiang, China World Cup
Women's Olympic Record History
Date Time (s) Person Location Games
August 6, 2021 6.84[52] Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Tokyo, Japan Tokyo 2020
August 4, 2021 6.97[53] Poland Aleksandra Mirosław Tokyo, Japan Tokyo 2020

Non-competition speed climbing

Most non-competition speed climbing records lack the standards normally associated with objective records. Competition speed climber Hans Florine has written about non-competition speed climbing: "I will be the first to say that climbing is silly. To make rules about it is just piling ridiculous on top of silly."[54]

However, various climbers have set "speed records" on well-known and frequently climbed routes, such as Dan Osman climbing Lover's Leap via the Bear's Reach route (5.7, 120+ metre) in 4 min 25 sec.[55] The most notable of such records are listed below:

Notable non-competition records

California

The Nose, El Capitan

Regular Northwest Route, Half Dome

  • 1:53:25 Jim Herson and Hans Florine 1999.
  • 5:25 Heidi Wertz and Wera Shulte-Pelcum 2004 (all female ascent).
  • 3:58 Hans Florine solo 1999 (Full day also included El Cap).

Snake Dike, Half Dome

Joshua Tree National Park

  • 280 Routes in a day Michael Reardon solo 2004.
  • 10 climbs 100 feet tall 45 minutes free solo, Dennis George
  • 600 feet car to summit with a steep approach of half mile Idyllwild, CA
  • 10,000 feet in 24 hours Joshua Tree, CA climb for breast cancer

Colorado

Bastille Crack

  • 00:05:33 Mic Fairchild solo 1998.

Third Flatiron

Nevada

Epinephrine

Cat In The Hat

New York

The Gunks

  • 50 Routes 13:30 Peter Darmi solo 2004.
  • 46 Routes 13:30 Eric Weigeshoff and Peter Darmi 2004. 3400' of climbing and descent.
  • 51 Routes 13:30 Eric Weigeshoff and Peter Darmi 2006 3400' of climbing and descent.

Wyoming

Grand Traverse

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Competition speed climbing.

References

  1. ↑ Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, Swan Hill Press; 6th Revised edition (14 Oct 1997) ISBN 1-84037-001-7,978-1-84037-001-0
  2. ↑ "Climbing styles in traditional climbing - speed climbing". TimeOutdoors. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Project Information: Speed World Record". Archived from the original on February 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ "What the Hell is Speed Climbing?". Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  5. ↑ "Event Regulations". Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  6. ↑ Stadsvold, Jenna (2017-06-08). "What is Speed Climbing? The Basics You Need to Know". Head Rush Tech Blog. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  7. ↑ Walker, Noah (December 23, 2021). "The Paris Olympics – A New Scoring System". Gripped. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  8. ↑ IFSC Rules modification 2018 V1.5, April 2018
  9. ↑ "IFSC - Climbing World Championships (B,L,S) - Bern 2023".
  10. ↑ "IFSC - Climbing World Cup (Speed Men) - 2023".
  11. ↑ "IFSC - Climbing World Cup (Speed Women) - 2023".
  12. ↑ Walker, Noah (July 1, 2022). "What is the Limit? Katibin Sets New Speed World Record". Gripped. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  13. ↑ "IFSC Speed Climbing World Records". Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  14. ↑ International Federation of Sport Climbing [@ifsclimbing] (April 28, 2023). "A sub-5 at the IFSC World Cup in Seoul for Leonardo Veddriq" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ "L'Indonésien Kiromal Katibin bat encore le record du monde d'escalade de vitesse et frôle la barre des 5 secondes". L'Équipe (in French). July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  16. ↑ @ifsclimbing (June 30, 2022). "On 27 May 2021, the men's Speed world record was 5.48 seconds. Then Kiromal Katibin 🇮🇩 landed on planet Earth. @fpti_official" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ↑ @ifsclimbing (June 30, 2022). "🤯 AND ANOTHA ONE!! 🤯 Kiromal Katibin 🇮🇩 tears down another barrier and set a new men's Speed world Record with 5.09 seconds!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ "Climbing Speed World Records Men".
  19. ↑ "IFSC Salt Lake City 2022-05-27 Men's Speed Event Page".
  20. ↑ "IFSC Seoul 2022-05-06 Men's Speed Event Page".
  21. ↑ "Speed Records".
  22. ↑ International Federation of Sport Climbing (2021-05-28), Kiromal Katibin DESTROYS the men's Speed world record!, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2021-05-29
  23. ↑ International Federation of Sport Climbing (2017-05-15), IFSC Climbing World Cup Nanjing 2017 - New Speed World Records, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2018-07-06
  24. ↑ Jan Kříž (2014-09-13), NEW World speed climbing record - 5.60 seconds! WCH Gijon 2014, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2017-05-22
  25. ↑ International Federation of Sport Climbing (2014-09-01), IFSC Climbing World Cup Arco 2014 - Speed - Hroza Breaks World Record, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2017-05-22
  26. ↑ Edyta Ropek (2014-08-30), Speed Climbing World Record by Libor Hroza, Arco, 30.08.2014 qualification round, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2018-02-15
  27. ↑ International Federation of Sport Climbing (2012-10-18), Men's Speed Climbing World Record 5.88 - IFSC Climbing World Cup Xining 2012 - Speed, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2017-05-22
  28. ↑ Jan Kříž (2011-07-29), World record in speed climbing 2011 (6.26 seconds) HD, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2018-02-15
  29. ↑ Olympics Games (2021-08-03), 2020 Summer Olympic Games - Men's Speed qualifier, archived from the original on 2021-08-03, retrieved 2021-08-03
  30. ↑ "IFSC Speed Climbing World Records".
  31. ↑ "IFSC Seoul 2023 Speed Finals". YouTube.
  32. ↑ "IFSC Speed Climbing World Records".
  33. ↑ "IFSC Seoul 2023 Speed Finals". YouTube.
  34. ↑ "IFSC Speed Climbing World Records".
  35. ↑ International Federation of Sport Climbing [@ifsclimbing] (April 28, 2023). "In race two of Speed qualification, Aleksandra Miroslaw lowers her time, AGAIN!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  36. ↑ International Federation of Sport Climbing [@ifsclimbing] (April 28, 2023). "28 APR 2023 - A 6.46 from the Polish Speed climber!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  37. ↑ "Climbing Speed World Records Women".
  38. ↑ "IFSC Salt Lake City 2022-05-27 Women's Speed Event Page".
  39. ↑ "IFSC Seoul 2022-05-06 Women's Speed Event Page".
  40. ↑ "Tokyo 2020 Speed Finale Results". Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  41. ↑ International Federation of Sport Climbing (2020-11-24), Russia: Yulia Kaplina breaks speed climbing world record in Moscow, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2021-05-29
  42. ↑ "Aries Susati Pecahkan Rekor Dunia Panjat Tebing". CNN Indonesia. 20 October 2019.
  43. ↑ "New Women's Speed World Record by Song Yi Ling". 26 April 2019.
  44. ↑ "IFSC Climbing Worldcup (B,S) - Moscow (RUS) 2018".
  45. ↑ "Kaplina Sets New World Record, Iran Wins First Gold". Archived from the original on 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
  46. ↑ "Records tumble on final day of IFSC World Cup in Nanjing". 30 April 2017.
  47. ↑ "IFSC Climbing Worldcup (B,S) - Chongqing (CHN) 2017".
  48. ↑ "Iuliia Kaplina Sets a New Women's World Speed Record". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
  49. ↑ "Speed Climbing World Cup in China". 21 June 2015.
  50. ↑ "New Women's World Speed Record and Gold medal to Iuliia Kaplina".
  51. ↑ "IFSC Speed Climbing World Record - Iuliia Kaplina at Wujiang 2013". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
  52. ↑ "Tokyo 2020 Speed Finale Results". Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  53. ↑ "Tokyo 2020 Speed Qualifications Results".
  54. ↑ Speed Climbing!: How to Climb Faster and Better 2nd edition, By Hans Florine, Bill Wright Published by Globe Pequot, 2004, ISBN 0-7627-3095-1, 978-0-7627-3095-7
  55. ↑ Dan Osman- Lover's Leap
  56. ↑ "The Nose Goes Sub 2: Honnold and Caldwell Set New Record of 1:58:07". 6 June 2018.
  57. ↑ "Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell Break Nose Speed Record". 30 May 2018.
  58. ↑ "Alex Honnold's Nose of el Capitan Speed Record Broken in Yosemite". National Geographic Society. 23 October 2017. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017.
  59. ↑ "Video: Mayan Smith-Gobat and Libby Sauter Break el Cap Speed Record". 5 February 2015.
  60. ↑ "Brad Gobright is Alex Honnold's New Nemesis". 17 March 2018.
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