Proud! Indonesia Sweeps The Podium Of The Rock Climbing World Cup In Seoul

Indonesia swept the podium in one of the 2022 Rock Climbing World Cup series which was held at the Jungnang Sport Climbing Stadium, Seoul, South Korea (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesia swept the podium in one of the 2022 Rock Climbing World Cup series which was held at the Jungnang Sport Climbing Stadium, Seoul, South Korea, Friday.

Veddriq Leonardo ensured the top podium in the men's speed number after finishing with a time of 6.96 seconds. He also quite benefited because his compatriot, Kiromal Katibin, stole the start in the final match for the gold medal, according to the IFSC records.

"Of course I am very happy because this is the first competition of the season. I felt very confident during the final match, and this (win) feels great," said Veddriq as quoted by Antara, Saturday.

Meanwhile for Katibin, although this final ended an anticlimactic and disappointing, he can breathe a sigh of relief thanks to the world record he set in the qualifying round with a time of 5.17 seconds, 0.03 seconds faster than Veddriq's previous record which was recorded in the Cup. World 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

The podium for the men's speed number of the Rock Climbing World Cup this time was even more complete thanks to the victory of another athlete from Indonesia, Rahmad Adi, who defeated Ludovico Fossali from Italy in the bronze medal match with a record time of 5.58 seconds.

In the women's speed race, Polish athlete who has also appeared in the Olympics Aleksandra Miroslaw secured the top podium of the Rock Climbing World Cup for the sixth time in her career.

Miroslaw defeated American Emma Hunt in the final and shot up the 15-meter wall in 6.72 seconds.

Miroslaw had previously even stolen the spotlight in qualifying after sharpening his own world record which he set at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics from 6.84 seconds to 6.64 seconds.

Meanwhile, Indonesian female athletes have not been able to climb the podium in this World Cup series. Rajiah Sallsabillah and Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, who entered the top three in the qualifying round, were only able to finish fifth and ninth respectively in the final.