The first four climbers to earn quota places for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have been decided following an eventful Speed final at the IFSC World Championships in Bern, Switzerland. In finishing 1st and 2nd respectively, women's podiumists Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi (INA) and Emma Hunt (USA) and men's medallists Matteo Zurloni (ITA) and Jinbao Long (CHN) became the first Speed climbers in history to qualify for the debut single-discipline Olympic Speed event in Paris.
© Lena Drapella/IFSC
Favourites including current world record holder and world no.1 Veddriq Leonardo (INA), former world record holder Kiromal Katibin (INA), Olympic Speed record holder Aleksandra Miroslaw (POL), world cup winner Lijuan Deng (CHN) and the prolific Kalucka twins (POL) missed out on tickets in heart-in-mouth races featuring multiple slips and falls.
The semi-final runs decided the top two athletes, and Emma Hunt was the first to win her race and earn an Olympic quota place after beating odds-on favourite Aleksandra Miroslaw, who slipped low down. Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi (INA) bested Aleksandra Kalucka (POL) - who also slipped - with a time of 6.48 seconds to secure a quota place. In the final race, Made Rita Kusuma Dewi won in a close-fought battle with a time of 6.49 seconds ahead of Hunt, who set a new PanAmerican record time of 6.67 seconds.
© Lena Drapella/IFSC
In the men's competition, Matteo Zurloni (ITA) set a new European record of 5.02 seconds in the 1/4 finals. In the semis, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Rishat Khaibullin (KAZ) lost to Jinbao Long (CHN) in a rare clean race, recording 5.17 and 5.03 seconds - a PB for Long - respectively. Zurloni went on to outpace a slipping Rahmad Adi Mulyono (INA) in a time of 5.13 seconds compared to 8.01 seconds.
© Lena Drapella/IFSC
The final race between Long and Zurloni resulted in a false start from Long, giving Zurloni the win and the chance to go for a world record attempt. He fell short at 5.56 seconds, but with a ticket to Paris and World Championship title in hand, Zurloni appeared surprised yet overjoyed with these achievements in his first season on the IFSC circuit.
© Lena Drapella/IFSC
Speed Women
| Rank | Name | Nation | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi | INA | 6.49 |
| 2 | Emma Hunt | USA | 6.67 |
| 3 | Aleksandra Mirosław | POL | 6.55 |
| 4 | Aleksandra Kalucka | POL | 8.07 |
| 5 | Rajiah Sallsabillah | INA | 7.72 (6.86) |
| 6 | Patrycja Chudziak | POL | 7.14 (7.04) |
| 7 | Leslie Adriana Romero Pérez | ESP | 7.18 |
| 8 | Yafei ZHOU | CHN | 7.22 |
| 9 | Natalia Kalucka | POL | FALL (6.98) |
| 10 | LiJuan DENG | CHN | 7.50 (7.13) |
| 11 | JIMIN JEONG | KOR | 7.15 |
| 12 | Di Niu | CHN | 7.21 |
| 13 | Capucine Viglione | FRA | 8.61 (7.27) |
| 14 | SHENGYAN WANG | CHN | 7.78 (7.42) |
| 15 | Giulia Randi | ITA | 7.43 |
| 16 | Iqomah Nurul | INA | 10.03 (7.46) |
| 17 | Beatrice Colli | ITA | Qual: 7.51 |
| 18 | Shaoqin ZHANG | CHN | Qual: 7.607 |
| 19 | Andrea Rojas | ECU | Qual: 7.609 |
| 20 | Victoire Andrier | FRA | Qual: 7.61 |
Speed Men
| Rank | Name | Nation | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matteo Zurloni | ITA | 5.56 |
| 2 | JinBao LONG | CHN | FALSE START |
| 4 | Rishat Khaibullin | KAZ | 7.34 |
| 5 | Kiromal Katibin | INA | 5.05 |
| 6 | PENG WU | CHN | 5.12 |
| 7 | Liang ZHANG | CHN | 5.28 (5.17) |
| 8 | Erik Noya Cardona | ESP | 6.87 (5.39) |
| 9 | Veddriq Leonardo | INA | 6.35 (5.10) |
| 10 | Xinshang WANG | CHN | 5.15 |
| 11 | Yaroslav Tkach | UKR | 5.25 |
| 12 | Jun YASUKAWA | JPN | FALL (5.27) |
| 13 | Bassa Mawem | FRA | 7.28 (5.35) |
| 14 | Aspar Jaelolo | INA | 8.20 (5.35) |
| 15 | Pierre Rebreyend | FRA | 5.49 (5.37) |
| 16 | Zach Hammer | USA | 6.69 (5.38) |
| 17 | Guillaume Moro | FRA | Qual: 5.42 |
| 18 | Aripin Zaenal | INA | Qual: 5.442 |
| 19 | John Brosler | USA | Qual: 5.446 |
| 20 | Reza Alipourshena. | IRI | Qual: 5.45 |
| 35 | Rafe Stokes | GBR | Qual: 5.67 |
| 67 | Matthew Fall | GBR | Qual: 7.33 |
Tonight's combined Boulder & Lead final will decide the first three women to qualify for Paris 2024 in this discipline. On Saturday evening, Britain's Toby Roberts will compete for a top-three spot in the men's event.
IFSC World Championships Bern - schedule
AUG 11
18:00-21:00
FINALS
Women's Boulder & Lead
AUG 12
15:00-17:00
FINALS
Men's Boulder & Lead
Watch live on Eurosport.
Replays available to watch on the Olympic Channel.
Comments