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Asian Games 2018: RI ‘Spiderwoman’ creates history at home
Aries Susanti Rahayu (JP/Jerry Adiguna)“Alhamdulillah [Thank God],” Aries Susanti Rahayu said as she received the gold medal for women’s speed climbing at the Asian Games on Thursday evening
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Aries Susanti Rahayu (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
“Alhamdulillah [Thank God],” Aries Susanti Rahayu said as she received the gold medal for women’s speed climbing at the Asian Games on Thursday evening.
Dubbed “Spiderwoman”, the 23-year-old was cheered on by local spectators as she raced to the top of the wall in 7.61 seconds, beating compatriot Puji Lestari, who clocked in at 7.98 seconds, at Jakabaring Sports City (JSC) in Palembang, South Sumatra.
Aries said Thursday’s competition was much more intense than the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup event in Chongqing, China, on May 5 this year, where she also finished in first place.
“Of course I was under a lot of pressure because I was competing before our own public. I wanted to hoist the red-and-white flag in our country,” she said.
As such, Aries added, the Asian Games gold medal was even more meaningful than her victory at the World Cup event. “Winning a gold medal in front of our supporters was so much fun, especially because women’s speed climbing was being featured for the first time at the Games.”
Aries could not hold back her tears after her victory. Her parents and coach attended the event and cheered her on. She dedicated her gold medal to her parents.
“I Love you, Ayah [father]. This medal is for my parents who raised me to become who I am today,” she said as tears of joy fell down her face.
She also did not forget to thank her childhood coach who had introduced her to wall climbing.
Despite winning the gold medal, Aries was not satisfied with her performance, given that she needed just 7.39 seconds to reach the top at a 2018 IFSC World Cup event in Moscow back in April. “I lost focus in the final, and concentration is the key to set the best time,” said the 23-year-old, who ranks fifth in the world, adding that during training she had achieved a time of 6.88 seconds. “My next target after the Asian Games is to [improve on] my world ranking so I can be better than climbers from Russia and France,” she said.
Anouck Jaubert from France is the current world no. 1, followed by Russians Julia Kaplina, Mariia Krasavina and Anna Tsyganova.
Aries, who sits seventh in the ongoing 2018 IFSC World Cup, has improved from last year when she finished 13th.
Aries, who was born in Grobogan, Central Java, on March 21, 1995, began climbing in the second grade of junior high school. Her physical education teacher introduced her to the sport after seeing that the young girl loved climbing trees.
She then dedicated her time to training and even decided to take a break from her studies at Muhammadiyah Semarang University. She still dreams of continuing her studies and earning her bachelor degree in management.
Prior to competing at the Asian Games, Aries won a bronze medal at the Asian Speed Climbing Championships in Tehran in 2017. She also finished fourth at a 2017 IFSC World Cup event in Wujiang, China, the same year.
In April this year, Aries finished fourth in the women’s speed climbing category at the second 2018 IFSC World Cup event in Moscow behind Jaubert, Kaplina and Elena Timofeeva of Russia.
Aries finished first at the third 2018 IFSC World Cup event in Chongqing, China, in May, defeating Timofeeva in the final. The result earned her the nickname “Spiderwoman”.
