Urges Made To Win Gold Medal At IFSC Madrid 4 Speed

JAKARTA Indonesia's mainstay rock climbing athlete, Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, won the gold medal at IFSC Madrid 4 Speed 2024 which uses the latest format.

The athlete from Bali rose to the highest podium after carving a time of 6.49 seconds in the final match which took place on Sunday, October 20, 2024.

The record at that time made Desak superior to three of his other opponents, including his compatriot, Rajiah Sallsabillah, who finished third and won a bronze medal with a time of 9.65 seconds.

Overall, Indonesia secured three medals in this event. One other medal, namely bronze, was won by Veddriq Leonardo in the men's speed number with a time of 5.11 seconds.

The gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics finished behind Long Jianguo from China and Amir Maimuratov from Kazakhstan who took first and second place.

The General Secretary of the Central Board of the Indonesian Rock Climbing Federation (PP FPTI), Pristiawan Buntoro, said that competition with a new format in the speed number made the championship more competitive.

"Athletes must really maintain their physical and mental condition because athletes have to undergo more matches intensically in one competition. So, it takes excellent condition and mental condition to be stable," he said.

The IFSC Madrid 4 Speed 2024 competition is the first competition to use a new format with four lanes or lanes. This format makes four athletes compete simultaneously in four lanes.

In the qualifying round, each athlete must climb on all paths (Line A-D). From the results of the qualification, as many as 16 athletes were fastest to advance to the quarter-finals.

Furthermore, the eight fastest athletes immediately qualified, while the other eight athletes fought in the elimination round which was also contested by athletes who took the top 9-24 position in the qualifying round.

In the quarter-finals, the 16 athletes were divided into four groups, each of which was filled with four athletes.

They won the two fastest positions from each group to then fight for the eight fastest positions to qualify for the semifinals.

In the semifinals, the eight athletes were divided into two groups, each of which was filled by four athletes.

They will duel for the two fastest positions from each group to compete for the four fastest positions to qualify for the finals.

In the final round, the four athletes will compete in four lanes at once to compete for gold, silver and bronze medals.

In addition, this competition in Madrid is also a trial event for the speed relay number with a two-athlet format against two athletes. Different from the usual speed relay, which uses the three-athlet format against three athletes.

The competition's new format for the men's and women's individual speed numbers will be further tested at The 2025 World Games which will be held in Chengdu, China, in 2025.