Climbing events at The World Games Chengdu 2025 opened with an entertaining pair of Speed qualification rounds, selecting the top 16 men and top 16 women ahead of tonight’s finals. Margins were razor-thin on the wall, and the bracket is stacked with Olympic medallists, world record holders, and rising talents.
NURSAMSA TOP MEN’S QUALIFICATION TABLE
In the men’s field, Raharjati Nursamsa of Indonesia set the pace with a lightning-fast 4.93 seconds, followed by Long Jianguo of China in second at 4.98, and Yaroslav Tkach of Ukraine in third with 5.02. The cut time for the finals was 5.35, set by Beknur Altynbekov of Kazakhstan, just one hundredth of a second ahead of Ukraine’s Hryhorii Ilchyshyn, who placed 17th.
A headline Round of 16 clash awaits as world record holder and Paris 2024 bronze medallist Samuel Watson of the USA will face Paris 2024 gold medallist Veddriq Leonardo of Indonesia, after they placed 11th and sixth respectively.
Watson said: “I’m currently dealing with an injury on my shoulder, I was on the phone with my physio up until 15 minutes ago, trying to figure out what the best option was, but I made it to final so we’re happy. Every competition is a good challenge, I’m looking forward to progressing tonight and have each lap go faster.”
For the men’s Speed complete results click here.