Italy’s Beatrice Colli and neutral athlete Petr Zemliakov won gold, while Germany’s Leander Carmanns set a new European record in qualification
The World Climbing Europe Championship concluded in Laval, France, with the Speed competition bringing together 64 athletes from 14 nations in one of the fastest fields on the continental calendar.
COLLI CLAIMS HER FIRST EUROPEAN TITLE
Italy’s Beatrice Colli won women’s gold in 6.55 seconds, completing an unbeaten run through all four knockout rounds. The result marks her first senior European title following her return from injury.
Colli secured victory in the final against neutral athlete Elizaveta Ivanova, who took silver in 7.38. In the semi-final, Colli eliminated defending European champion Natalia Kalucka of Poland and regained the Italian record with a time of 6.45, against Kalucka’s 6.53.
Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw claimed bronze in 6.18 in her final international competition. An emotional end to the bronze-medal race brought one of Climbing’s most successful careers to a close, with the Laval crowd giving the Paris 2024 Olympic champion a long standing ovation.
ZEMLIAKOV BROTHERS SHARE THE MEN’S PODIUM
Neutral athlete Petr Zemliakov won men’s gold in 5.00, defeating home favourite Marceau Garnier of France, who took silver in 5.06.
The bronze-medal race went to Petr’s younger brother, Ivan Zemliakov, who finished in 6.25 after Ukraine’s Hryhorii Ilchyshyn fell early in the race. Earlier in the competition, Ivan Zemliakov had eliminated defending champion Ludovico Fossali of Italy in the round of 16.
CARMANNS SETS EUROPEAN RECORD IN QUALIFICATION
The fastest time of the competition came before the knockout rounds even began, as Germany’s Leander Carmanns clocked 4.79 in qualification – a new men’s European record. The performance made Carmanns only the 13th man ever to break the 4.80-second barrier.
NEXT UP
The final World Climbing Europe event of the season is scheduled to take place in Leipzig, Germany, on 4 October.
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.
