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2013Year10Month23Day The final event of this year’s IFSC Climbing World Cup series —2013the Wujiang-Fenhu World Cup — recently concluded. Zhong Qixin, captain of the Chinese National Climbing Team and Red Bull-sponsored athlete, returned today to the training base in Huairou. At the last stop of this year’s Climbing World Cup in Wujiang, Russian athletes Kakalin and Yulia swept the men’s and women’s speed climbing titles. Zhong Qixin, who has set world records6times and won4consecutive World Championship titles, was a pre-event favorite but failed to advance after falling during the men’s speed climbing round of 16, ending his run in the top 16. He ultimately finished third in the overall World Cup standings for the year.
It is poignant that at this same cliff just last year, Zhong Qixin set the5-second87world’s best time. Reflecting on Zhong Qixin’s international competitions this year, there were many memorable highlights and disappointments: The World Games, a major multi-sport event recognized and supported by the International Olympic Committee and held only once every four years,2013The climbing competition at the 2013 World Games8took place in4Month in Cali, Colombia’s second-largest city. Zhong Qixin made a mistake in the semifinals and lost once again to Russian athlete Timofeyev, missing out on the finals and ultimately taking home the bronze medal.10In11Month, at the IFSC World Cup Speed Finals held in Mokpo, South Korea, Zhong Qixin performed outstandingly, defeating the world record holder, Russian athlete Ivanov, and World Champion Libor of the Czech Republic in both the semifinals and finals to claim the title. This was also Zhong Qixin’s best result among the three World Cup events he competed in this year in Chongqing (China), Italy, and Russia; his previous results at those three stops were third, second, and third, respectively.10In16Month, the World Cup event in Haiyang saw multiple upsets: little-known Iranian athlete Ali reached the men’s speed climbing finals for the first time and defeated Russia’s world No. 2 Kakalin with a time of6seconds24to win the championship. Zhong Qixin made an error in the first round of the finals and was knocked out of the top4, while world No. 1 Czech athlete Libor was also surprisingly eliminated. Later, in the finals on the traditional speed climbing route, Zhong Qixin secured the championship with a total time of15seconds08. This marked Zhong Qixin’s first world-level victory on the traditional speed route.
After the Wujiang World Cup, Zhong Qixin told reporters that following his win in Korea, he had looked forward to performing well in the two World Cup events held in China. “These two unexpected outcomes are a motivation for me. Moving forward, I will seriously consider improving my training and start afresh.” He said, “Except when preparing for the2009World Games climbing competition, my training was not systematic enough and the conditions were limited. European athletes have a better training environment, and many top climbers from Korea and Japan often train in Europe. Since climbing has been included as a potential Olympic sport, I hope relevant parties will pay more attention.”
Zhao Lei, head coach of the Chinese Climbing Team, said that currently the global competition in speed climbing is more intense than ever, and the previous situation where the Chinese team dominated no longer exists. Climbers from countries such as Russia now have a collective advantage, which is worth learning from. The inherently unstable nature of speed climbing makes training even more challenging, and athlete selection is also difficult. He hopes that Zhong Qixin, as a leading figure in Chinese climbing, will keep pushing forward and achieve outstanding results in next year’s world competitions.
Ding Xianghua, director of the Climbing and Ice Climbing Department of the National Mountaineering Center of the General Administration of Sport of China and executive secretary-general of the organizing committee for this World Cup, said in an interview that the two recent World Cup events held domestically have revealed a new landscape in global climbing. Not only do European athletes dominate in speed climbing, but athletes from Iran, Indonesia, and others are also making rapid progress, making international competitions increasingly fierce. In the past, driven by China, the IFSC accepted and established rules for speed climbing. Coupled with the outstanding performances of athletes like Zhong Qixin and He Cuilian, China maintained a speed climbing advantage for many years. But up to now, we hold no clear advantage. Moving forward, the national climbing team will study measures, reposition itself, and strengthen training. Ding Xianghua emphasized that Zhong Qixin has trained rigorously and has set world records6times, achieving consecutive4He won the world championship for the 30th time, creating a miracle in the history of world rock climbing. Currently, competitive rock climbing in China faces new challenges, as nurturing young athletes requires a certain period. It is hoped that Zhong Qixin will continue to carry the banner of China's competitive rock climbing, help and guide young athletes, and win more honors for the country on the international climbing stage.
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