Local athlete Carla Martínez Vidal thrilled the home crowd with a win in the women's event, while Ukraine's Hryhorii Ilchyshyn secured men's gold
The World Climbing Europe Series stopped at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, for a Speed competition on 17 July, ahead of the Boulder Championship that took place that same weekend, at the same venue.
Spain’s depth in the discipline was on full display, with five women and five men reaching the round of 16. Carla Martínez Vidal delivered the home victory in the women’s event, while Ukraine’s Hryhorii Ilchyshyn claimed men’s gold with the fastest time of the day.
MARTÍNEZ VIDAL DELIVERS FOR THE HOME CROWD
Martínez Vidal clocked two races in the 6.6-second range—6.62 in the opening round and 6.62 in the quarter-final—before following up with two more solid sub-seven climbs to secure the title. She first defeated Germany’s Nele Thomas in the semi-final, stopping the clock at 6.85, then prevailed over Ukraine’s Kseniia Horielova in the gold-medal race, hitting the finish pad in 6.74 to her rival’s 7.20.
In the bronze-medal race, Poland’s Magdalena Blachnicka slipped and fell, allowing Thomas to take bronze in 7.58.
For the women's Speed complete results click here.
ILCHYSHYN PRODUCES A STANDOUT PERFORMANCE
Ukraine’s Hryhorii Ilchyshyn, the current holder of the men’s European record, set the fastest time of the event with 4.88 seconds in his semi-final against Spain’s Erik Noya Cardona. He then took gold with a blistering 5.05 against Switzerland’s Gilles Meili, who faltered in the final and finished in 7.75 to take silver.
The bronze-medal race saw a neck-and-neck duel between home favourite Noya Cardona and Great Britain’s Andrew Goodall. The British 21-year-old secured third place by just 0.04 seconds, clocking 5.02 to Noya Cardona’s 5.06.
For the men's Speed complete results click here.
MEDAL TABLE
The medal table of the World Climbing Europe Series Barcelona 2026 is as follows:
| NATION | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | TOTAL |
| Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Great Britain | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
NEXT UP
The World Climbing Europe Series circuit will continue next month with three more events: in St. Pölten, Austria, on 2 August; in Žilina, Slovakia, from 7 to 9 August; and in Ostermundigen, Switzerland, from 21 to 22 August.
All European events will be live streamed on the World Climbing Europe YouTube channel. News and updates about all World Climbing events will be available on the World Climbing website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.