Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw became speed climbing’s first Olympic champion as she flew up the wall 0.08 seconds ahead of China’s Deng Lijuan to win gold with her 6.10-second run.
Deng ran a personal best time of 6.18 seconds to take silver.
In the small final, Indonesia’s Rajiah Sallsabillah took on Polish Aleksandra Kalucka. Both women ran their personal best times of 6.41 seconds and 6.34 seconds, respectively, in the semifinal to advance to the small final. In the end, Kalucka got the stronger start and raced up the wall as Sallsabillah slipped and finished off the podium.
American Emma Hunt had an explosive start to her quarterfinal run and had a slight edge over Sallsabillah until she slipped mid-climb. Sallsabillah took the lead to advance to the semifinal, where she lost against Deng, who beat her with a 6.38-second run. Deng advanced to the semifinal after upsetting Indonesia’s Dewi Made Rita Kusuma Desak, who was the Asian continental record holder heading into the Games. Deng won that race with a personal best time of 6.363 seconds, 0.003 seconds faster than Desak.
Earlier, in the semifinal, Miroslaw broke the women’s speed climbing world record when she finished with a run time of 6.06 seconds.
Women’s speed climbing medalists
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