The World Climbing Series Kraków 2026 delivered another historic day of Speed Climbing, with the first-ever finals held on a four-lane wall. Samuel Watson of the USA and Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi of Indonesia claimed gold medals, while Emma Hunt of the USA became the first woman in history to race below six seconds.

WATSON WINS FOUR-LANE DEBUT

The inaugural four-lane final featured an expanded 32-athlete knockout bracket, beginning with eight races in the round of 32 before progressing through quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a single medal race that decided all four final positions simultaneously.

Watson got the rematch he had hoped for against world record holder Zhao Yicheng of China, with the pair lining up alongside Raharjati Nursamsa of Indonesia and Chu Shouhong of China in the decisive medal race.

The American produced the fastest run of the competition, stopping the clock in a lifetime best of 4.60 seconds to secure gold. Zhao followed in 4.69 for silver, while Nursamsa claimed bronze in 4.79. Chu narrowly missed the podium in 4.81, only 0.02 seconds behind the Indonesian.

“I’m feeling great! Obviously the win is a big part of it, but 250 years ago this great American experiment began, the Fourth of July, our Independence Day, and to be here competing on the highest stage, to win and to go head-to-head in these battles with the new format, is great,” Watson said. “I’m pretty happy, but you saw my face at the end, I did want a record, but the one-on-one format maybe is a bit better for that.”

The American also credited recent adjustments to his preparation.

“I’m very happy with my training since the last competition. Some of the improvements that I’ve made gave me a new sense of motivation, a new sense of drive to improve myself on the wall. I’ve copied some of the beta from Zhao Yicheng and I think I outran him on the move that I looked to improve on. That’s definitely a spark of confidence and I want to keep getting better.”

For the men’s Speed complete results click here.

HUNT MAKES HISTORY BEFORE KUSUMA DEWI PREVAILS

The women’s competition produced arguably the moment of the event before the medals were even decided.

After leading qualification with 6.05 seconds and opening the finals with 6.07 in the eighth-final round, Hunt lowered the world record to 5.99 in her quarter-final, becoming the first woman ever to complete the Speed route in under six seconds.

The medal race then featured three of the four women in history to have raced below 6.10 – Hunt, Aleksandra Mirosław of Poland, and Kusuma Dewi – joined by another home favourite, Natalia Kałucka of Poland.

The anticipated showdown between Hunt and Mirosław was unfortunately denied when the Polish climber false started the opening medal race. In the subsequent re-run, Hunt slipped low on the wall and settled for bronze with 11.37.

Gold ultimately came down to Kusuma Dewi and Kałucka, with the Indonesian prevailing in 6.54 against the Polish’s 6.62 to secure her second career World Climbing Series gold, both won in Kraków.

The result also marked a bittersweet farewell for Mirosław, who had previously announced that Kraków would be her final World Climbing international competition. The Polish star is expected to make one final appearance at the World Climbing Europe Championships in Laval, France, before retiring from competition.

“I’m very happy, this is my second medal in Kraków,” Kusuma Dewi said. “I didn’t expect I could get a gold medal again, all the competitors were very fast. I want to congratulate all of them, and thank my team, my coach, and all the people in Indonesia who supported us.”

The Indonesian also expressed hope that the victory would have an impact beyond the podium.

“Actually, I had some problems before this competition because our government is not supporting us, and thanks to this gold medal I hope they will start to support us.”

Looking back on another memorable competition in Poland, she added: “Thank you so much to Kraków, this is a beautiful place for me!”

For the women’s Speed complete results click here.

NEXT UP

The World Climbing Series Kraków 2026 will conclude tomorrow with the men's and women's Speed Relay: qualifications will start at 12:30 (UTC+2:00) and finals will close the event at 16:30.

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