From October 16 to 17, the two-day “Wujiang Rural Commercial Bank” Cup 2012 Wujiang · Fenhu International Climbing Masters Competition was grandly held at Sanbaidang Sports Park in Wujiang City. After two days of fierce competition, the event crowned champions in four categories: men’s and women’s lead climbing, as well as men’s and women’s speed climbing. China’s Zhong Qixin and Russia’s Yulia won the men’s and women’s speed titles respectively, while the men’s and women’s lead titles were claimed by South Korea’s Min Hyun-bin and Slovenia’s Mina. Paris World Championships men’s speed champion, former world record holder, and Chinese athlete Zhong Qixin surpassed several Russian athletes who had broken world records in succession at the Qinghai Guide IFSC Climbing World Cup, setting a new world record in speed climbing with a time of 5.87 seconds. In the lead category, Solang Gyatso and Mazda finished 5th and 6th respectively, showing significant overall improvement. Marco Scolaris, President of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), who attended the event, highly praised the outstanding contributions of Chinese climbers to the development of global climbing sports.
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This competition was organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), and co-hosted by the Mountaineering Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Chinese Mountaineering Association, the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau, and the People’s Government of Wujiang City, Jiangsu Province. It was co-organized by the Jiangsu Provincial Social Sports Management Center, the Wujiang Municipal Sports Bureau, and the Fenhu High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. Attendees and guests at the opening ceremony, who also watched the competitions, included Mr. Wu Qi, member of the Party Group of the General Administration of Sport of China and Vice Chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee; Mr. Li Zhixin, Executive Committee Member of the IFSC and Director of the Mountaineering Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China; Mr. Gao Lin, member of the Party Group and Head of the Discipline Inspection Group of the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau; Mr. Xu Ming, Vice Mayor of the Suzhou Municipal People’s Government and Secretary of the Wujiang Municipal Committee of the CPC; and Mr. Gong Jiming, Deputy Director of the Suzhou Municipal Sports Bureau.
The event attracted over 50 top climbers from 11 countries and regions, including Russia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, Slovenia, Ukraine, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong (China), and China, among them being the world’s top ten ranked athletes in both men’s and women’s speed climbing.
Mr. Wu Xinming, Standing Committee Member of the Wujiang Municipal Committee of the CPC, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of the Fenhu High-Tech Zone, said in his speech:The hosting of this world-class climbing competition in Wujiang’s Fenhu area isa concrete practice of Fenhu’s commitment to vigorously developing sports, as well as a rare opportunity to fully showcase the city’s image and vitality. Taking this climbing event as an opportunity, Fenhu will further promotethe spirit of courage, upward striving, and never backing down,transforming the climbing spirit into motivation for advancing the region’s economic and social development. At the same time, through extensive international exchanges, Fenhu will actively work to establish the Climbing Masters Competition as an internationally renowned sporting event.
This marks the fourth consecutive year since 2009 that the International Climbing Masters Competition has been hosted in China. Mr. Li Zhixin, Director of the Mountaineering Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, stated that in recent years, climbing has seen rapid, healthy, and sustainable development in China, drawing high attention from the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). The successful hosting of this event will effectively promote the further development of climbing in China, while also helping to promote Wujiang, boost local participation in fitness activities, and drive leapfrog socio-economic development in the region.
On the opening day, the unveiling ceremony for the “National Youth Climbing Training Base,” approved by the General Administration of Sport of China and established in the Fenhu High-Tech Zone, was held. This will have a positive and far-reaching impact on promoting youth climbing in the Yangtze River Delta region.
