An Indonesian sport climber has won a gold medal at the IFSC World Cup in Chongqing, China. Alfian M. Fajri, who competed in the men’s speed world record category, clocked in at 5.961 seconds, defeating Kostiantyn Pavlenko of Ukraine, who completed his climb in 6.310 seconds.

Third place was secured by Sergey Rukin of Russia, who recorded a time of 6.808 seconds. The feat was not easy for Sergey as he was involved in tight competition with China’s Zhong Qixin, who failed to complete his climb after falling.

Alfian previously won a gold medal at the Asian Championship in Kurayoshi, Japan in November last year.

“My deepest gratitude goes out to all my supporters who have enabled me to perform at my best,” Alfian said on Friday.

He also mentioned that being relaxed and calm had contributed to his performance during the competition.

Indonesian Federation of Sport Climbing chief Faisol Reza praised Alfian’s win, highlighting that the victory could boost the team’s morale.

“I also have faith that the coaches have implemented good strategies,” he said.

The victory lap appeared tailored solely for Alfian, as another Indonesian athlete, Aspar Jaelolo, failed to secure the quarterfinal ticket by Kostiantyn Pavlenko with only a 0.1 second gap.

Aspar slipped on this way up, slowing him down. He clocked in at 6.286 seconds, while Kostiantyn was 0.1 seconds faster at 6.130 seconds. Another Indonesian athlete, Fachtur Roji, despite having better start, also failed to beat Konstiantyn during the quarterfinals with 7.518 seconds while Kostiantyn clocked in 5.997 seconds.

In women’s speed climbing, the gold medal was secured by Yiling Song of China at 7.7673 seconds. The silver medal went to Aleksandra Rudzinska of Poland, who fell during the final round.

The bronze medal went to Russian athlete, Julia Kaplina with 8.429 seconds, after beating Anouck Jaubert of France, who also fell along the race.

Indonesian athlete Aries Susanti Rahayu failed to reach the semifinal. Aries was defeated by Anouck Jaubert of France with a slight gap of 0.02 seconds. Aries clocked in at 7.429 seconds, while Jaubert recorded a finish time of 7.400 seconds.

Aries, popularly known as ‘superwoman’ due to her speed, was the 2018 gold medalist at the IFSC World Cup in Chongqing.

Another Indonesian women athlete, Nurul Iqamah, also failed to secure a ticket to the quarterfinals after being defeated by Aleksandra Rudzinska. Nurul clocked in at 8.724 seconds, while Aleksandra finished in 7.742 seconds.

Commenting on the results, coach Hendra Basyir acknowledged that overall, the national team still had work to do.

“I praise Alfian for his victory, but overall I must acknowledge that the team has not had its best performance,” he said.

He went on to say the athletes had faced challenges in preparing for different categories, namely speed, lead and boulder.

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