Tag: Sam Watson

Firsts, Falls, and Fastest Runs: China Sweeps Gold at Guiyang Speed World Cup

Firsts, Falls, and Fastest Runs: China Sweeps Gold at Guiyang Speed World Cup

Lightning & Firsts: Guiyang Speed World Cup Delivers Golds, PBs, and Surprise Exits

China’s Guiyang stop of the IFSC Speed World Cup closed out the season with a volley of first-time winners, photo-finishes, and record-breaking heart. In front of a roaring home crowd, Chinese climbers stole both gold medals. But the story was far more than just home advantage—it was about razor-thin margins, mental grit, and unexpected exits.

Key Matches & Climbs

Women

  • Meng Shixue broke through in style. Her gold in Guiyang was her first ever World Cup medal, and it went to her in spectacular fashion on home soil with a time of 6.30 seconds, edging Jeong Jimin, who finished at 6.36 seconds.
  • Emma Hunt earned bronze after Zhou Yafei had a full fall in the bronze medal match—6.44 seconds was enough for Hunt to stand on the podium.
  • In the semifinals Meng had posted a personal best of 6.29 s over Hunt’s 6.35 s, setting up her gold-bout confidence. Jeong advanced past Zhou with 6.42 s vs 6.51 s.

Men

  • Chu Shouhong took gold with a personal best 4.79 seconds, beating Ryo Omasa (4.99) in the gold match.
  • Leander Carmanns grabbed bronze in a tight match, finishing at 4.98 seconds, just ahead of Yaroslav Tkach’s 5.11 in that bronze race.
  • Even earlier rounds were dramatic: Zach Hammer posted a sharp 4.959 s in the Round of 16. Tkach set a new European record in qualifications with 4.86 s. Ryo Omasa’s silver bumped him up to third in the overall speed standings.

Upsets, Slips & Storylines

  • Unexpected exits: Sam Watson (USA), the men’s world record holder, and Kiromal Katibin (Indonesia), the season leader, both went out in the Round of 16.
  • Slipping was epidemic. Nearly every round saw at least one athlete undone by a slip—especially in the early and middle sections. It made rhythm, reaction time, and composure more decisive than raw speed.
  • Firsts all around: For Meng, this was the breakthrough. Carmanns and Omasa solidified strong seasons by converting opportunities into podiums at just the right moment.

What It Means in the Big Picture

  • With his gold in Guiyang, Chu Shouhong clinches the men’s speed title in style.
  • On the women’s side, Emma Hunt secures the season title. Even though she wasn’t gold tonight, her consistency across events made her the overall champion.
  • Ryo Omasa’s silver lifts him into third in the overall season standings—he ends the year as part of a top-three that includes Katibin and Watson.
China’s Golden Week: World Games End in Chengdu Coronation

China’s Golden Week: World Games End in Chengdu Coronation

The World Games in Chengdu closed on a high, but the week began in heartbreak. Italian orienteer Mattia Debertolis was found unconscious on the course August 8 and tragically passed away days later at just 26. A civil engineer and PhD student at Stockholm University, Debertolis was more than an athlete — he was a rising mind and a competitor taken too soon. His loss hit the Games with a weight that no medal tally can balance.

But as it always does, sport pressed forward — and the action was fierce.

Speed climbing stole the spotlight. Six golds were up for grabs, and China made it clear this was their wall. On the men’s side, world record holder Sam Watson looked ready to cash in, but home favorite Shou Hong Chu snatched gold with a 0.16-second edge that might as well have been a mile at that pace. The women’s podium? Forget balance — China slammed the door, sweeping all three spots. Li Juan Deng held off Yu Mei Qin by one-hundredth of a second. Yes, 0.01. That’s literally the blink of an eye. Qin doubled up on silver in speed 4, while Indonesia’s Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dwei broke through for gold. Jianguo Long’s personal best 4.74 in the men’s event added more proof: this was China’s house.

The relays drove the point home. Chinese women finished one-two like it was a national training run, and the men put the United States in their rearview to claim another gold. At that point, the only question left was how much hardware the hosts could carry out of their own building.

Flag football brought one of the few shocks of the week. Team USA — heavy favorites and looking like a lock — got clipped by Mexico in the women’s gold medal game, 26–21. It was the kind of upset that flips a script and reminds you why trophies aren’t handed out on paper.

By the time the curtain dropped, the medal count looked like a demolition. China racked up 64 total medals, 36 of them gold — double Germany’s haul, and then some. Italy finished second in total hardware with 57, while Germany’s 17 golds kept them just barely in the conversation less than half of the hosts while still being nation with the second most athletes standing at the top of a podium.

Now the torch moves to Europe. Karlsruhe, Germany, gets the next crack at hosting in 2029. The question: can anyone else make it their Games, or will we be talking about China’s dominance all over again in four years?