Polish athlete Aleksandra won the women's speed climbing championship (photo by Cao Min).
After two days of fierce competition, the first leg of the 2013 Wall Gecko King World Cup Climbing Competition, jointly organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) and the People's Government of Chongqing Municipality, concluded on the evening of the 23rd in Chongqing's Dadukou District. In the highly anticipated men's speed climbing event, China’s six-time world record holder Zhong Qixin made a mistake in the semifinals and finished third.
Russian athlete Kokorin outperformed the competition to win the men's speed climbing title, achieving the best time of the competition at 6.16 seconds in the quarterfinals. Czech athlete Leib took a 2.15-second lead over Zhong Qixin in the semifinals to advance to the finals but started early and finished second. Polish athlete Aleksandra, Russian athletes Yulia and Yura claimed the top three spots in the women's speed climbing. Russian athlete Shalevdelov and Austrian athlete Anna won the men's and women's bouldering championships, respectively.
In an exclusive interview with China National Radio after the competition, Zhong Qixin said the result was not unexpected—given the intense competition, such a result was normal. He explained that his opponents' last-second moves disrupted his rhythm, making him anxious and overly eager to catch up, which led to the error. Next, he plans to compete in the Asian Championships in Iran. Regarding his goals for this year, he aims to defend his title at the World Games in Colombia in August. Zhao Lei, head coach of the Chinese climbing team, said after the competition that Chinese athletes achieved a breakthrough in the bouldering event. Wang Qinghua ranked 12th in the men's bouldering, the best result by a Chinese athlete in any world-level bouldering competition. Four male and two female athletes advanced to the finals, and three male athletes surpassed the Japanese world champion in qualifying. These results are largely attributed to the introduction of high-level foreign coaches.
Ding Xianghua, competition director of this World Cup leg and head of the Climbing and Ice Climbing Department at the Chinese Mountaineering Association under the General Administration of Sport of China, stated that the fierce competition reflected the current state of Chinese climbing, with one bronze medal won. Apart from Zhong Qixin, there remains a gap between Chinese athletes and the world’s top climbers. The past dominance in women's speed climbing no longer exists. This is partly due to the significant overall improvement of athletes from countries like Russia and Poland, and partly because China faces a generational gap as veteran athletes such as He Cuifang and Li Chunhua have retired, with no young successors ready yet. On future efforts in speed climbing, Ding said the focus will be on nurturing reserve talent and learning training methods from strong teams like Russia to keep up with the rapid development of global climbing.
Ding Xianghua also noted that Chongqing's Dadukou District has hosted two World Cup climbing competitions in a row, with the organization and execution of the events receiving high praise from the IFSC. The 2013 Wall Gecko King World Cup Climbing Competition set a high standard for international climbing competitions, organizing the event according to Olympic standards and showcasing the sport’s fashionable appeal, contributing to the goal of including climbing in the Olympics.
The 2013 Wall Gecko King World Cup Climbing Competition lasted two days. Nearly 100 athletes from 20 countries and regions participated, including Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong (China), Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, Thailand, the United States, and China. The event was organized by the Climbing Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Chongqing Municipal Sports Bureau, and the Dadukou District People's Government, with co-organization by Chongqing Zhongti and Beijing Aodegao Sports Development Co., Ltd.