Paris, France, August 7, 2024: It doesn’t take long to win an Olympic gold medal in the speed discipline of sport climbing – about six seconds to be precise.
But it doesn’t take long to lose one either – as one mistake or one slight hesitation on the 15-metre climbing wall means curtains.
Three of the four Asian athletes in the women’s speed quarter-finals at Le Bourget Climbing Venue on Wednesday learned a painful lesson, while the fourth – China’s Deng Lijuan – won the silver medal to prevent a Polish 1-2 on the podium.
There were two Indonesians and two Chinese in the last eight, along with two Poles and one athlete each from Spain and the United States.
In the quarter-finals, Aleksandra Kalucka beat China’s Zhou Yafei to the top of the wall – 6.49 seconds against 6.58. It was over for Zhou.
In the next race, Emma Hunt of the United States slipped on the wall, allowing Indonesia’s Rajiah Sallsabillah to win this race in a personal best 6.54 seconds. Hunt clocked 7.98.
The fourth quarter-final was really close, as China’s Deng edged the second Indonesian climber, Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, with a personal best 6.363 to 6.369.
World record and Olympic record-holder Aleksandra Miroslaw beat her teammate Kalucka 6.19-6.34 in an all-Polish semi-final, before Deng beat Sallsabillah to the top in 6.38, just three hundredths of a second ahead of the Indonesian, whose 6.41 was a personal best.
In the bronze medal race, Sallsabillah slipped early on and it was all over. Kalucka was already sliding down when the Indonesian was still going up – 6.53 for bronze compared to 8.24 due to the error.
And so to the final – Miroslaw, with a big Polish support in the stands, against Deng, the 24-year-old speedster looking to win the first gold medal in Olympic history in speed, as the three climbing disciplines of boulder, lead and speed were combined into one event at the sport’s Tokyo 2020 debut. Now speed is separate from lead/boulder, but officials are hoping they will have three separate disciplines in Los Angeles 2028.
Deng made a lightning start but the 30-year-old Pole, who set the world and Olympic record of 6.06 on August 5, used all her experience and extra reach to come out on top by eight hundredths of a second – 6.10 to a personal best of Deng of 6.18.
“I think that my performance today was quite good – and my coach was also affirmative,” Deng said.
“I think this discipline is very challenging for myself and for my sport. When I am climbing, I am very happy; especially when I can break my own record, I am very satisfied.”
Deng’s coach is Zhang Ning, a former national team athlete who continues to inspire Deng.
“His training is very encouraging and he is always boosting us. We can learn from his courage and perseverance, so he is really a role model.”