The World Climbing Series Comunidad de Madrid 2026 concluded in Alcobendas, Spain, with Emma Hunt of the USA and Chu Shouhong of China taking the Speed gold medals on the final day of competition.

HUNT RESPONDS TO WUJIANG DISAPPOINTMENT

Just weeks after finishing 37th at the season-opening event in Wujiang, China, Hunt completed a remarkable turnaround to stand on top of the podium in Spain. The American climber set three personal bests in four races throughout the finals and saved her fastest performance for last, clocking another career-best time – and new women's Pan American record – in the gold medal race against Polina Khalkevych of Ukraine.

The victory marks a significant response to a difficult start to the season, while Khalkevych celebrated the first senior international medal of her career at just 18 years old.

Hunt said: “I ended up in 37th place in Wujiang, it was not my time and that’s okay. I did a really hard reset, tried a bunch of new things in the two weeks in between, and I think it worked!”

Pressed on the changes she made, Hunt added: “I cannot disclose what I’ve worked on, might keep that a secret. Some good but weird stuff. A lot of racing, so thank you to the people I raced with.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, she said: “I’m feeling really good this season, I had a good warm-up today, everyone is getting faster and it’s exciting to see it! I’ll probably try a few new things in the month off before the next event in Poland.”

The bronze medal race featured two Chinese climbers, with Zhang Shaoqin defeating Mou Yuju. Zhang stopped the clock in 6.59 seconds to secure third place, while Mou finished in 7.39 seconds to complete a strong showing for the Chinese team.

For the women’s Speed complete results click here.

TEENAGERS BATTLE FOR MEN’S GOLD

The men’s final was a contest between two of Speed climbing’s brightest young talents.

Nineteen-year-old Chu Shouhong of China defeated 18-year-old Antasyafi Robby Al Hilmi of Indonesia to claim gold, setting a new personal best of 4.75 seconds in the decisive race. Al Hilmi entered the final after clocking a personal best of 4.72 seconds in the semi-final, but was unable to reproduce that performance in the race for gold.

The victory is Chu’s second gold medal at World Climbing Series level after his triumph in Guiyang, China, in September 2025.

Speaking after his victory, Chu said: “I’m feeling super happy and excited about the gold medal! I would like to thank all the members of the Chinese Climbing team who supported me.

“I try to focus on myself, and my biggest goal this year is to win the Asian Games next September.”

Al Hilmi’s silver medal is the first senior international podium of his career, while Yang Jie of China also celebrated a maiden podium after winning bronze. Yang defeated Zach Hammer of the USA in one of the closest races of the evening, crossing the line in 4.84 seconds to Hammer’s 4.86.

For the Men’s Speed complete results click here.

NEXT UP

The World Climbing Series 2026 will continue next week in Prague, Czechia, for this year's fourth Boulder, and second Lead competitions of the season, scheduled from 3 to 7 June.

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.