8 Speed Climbers To Watch for at the Paris Olympics
Speed climbers were dealt a rough hand at the Tokyo Olympics when they were pitted against lead and bouldering specialists in a strange three-discipline combined format. Fortunately, speed climbing will be contested as a discipline all by itself at the Paris Olympics—proving, finally, who the best speed climbers in the world are.
Speed begins with a qualification round on August 5, then quarterfinal and final rounds on August 7. In total, 14 climbers per gender will be vying for the speed medals. Here are the climbers to watch.
Favorite Speed Climbers at Paris Olympics (Men)
Sam Watson (USA)
When Team USA’s Sam Watson was just 15 years old, he was given the nickname “Sub-Six Sam” for breaking speed climbing’s hallowed six-second mark. In the years that followed, he continued to set the new standard for American youth speed climbing—including setting a World Record in the Male Youth A category (5.37 seconds) at the Youth World Championships in Dallas, Texas, in 2022. The youth accolades ensured Watson’s place in speed climbing history, but he was only getting started. He eventually smashed John Brosler’s long-standing (adult) American Record of 5.20 seconds with a run of 5.02. And then Watson went “sub-5-seconds”—a landmark achievement that only a handful of speed climbers have accomplished—and notched a new world record of 4.79 seconds at this year’s speed World Cup in Wujiang, China. Watson should be considered the favorite in the men’s field.
Career highlight (thus far): Time-wise, Sam Watson’s high-water mark was setting that world record of 4.79. (It’s worth noting he’s run even faster—4.66 seconds—in practice.) In terms of a noteworthy competition result, a win at a World Cup in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2022 ostensibly announced Watson to the world.
Why he could win in Paris: Watson, at 18 years old, owns the fastest time ever run by a human climber; if he can have clean runs in Paris, avoiding slips or false-starts, no one will be able to catch him.
Bassa Mawem (FRA)
If Sam Watson will cruise into the Paris Olympics with youthful zeal, France’s Bassa Mawem, at 39 years old, will possess all the wisdom, experience, and wherewithal that comes with age. Mawem’s participation at World Cups dates back to 2006—in fact, Mawem’s comp career predates the IFSC itself, as the governing body of World Cups during Mawem’s rookie year was the UIAA. Mawem has won multiple speed World Cups over the years, but, more importantly, he took part in the Tokyo Olympics several years ago—which enhanced his level of big-event experience. Unfortunately, those Tokyo Olympics were disastrous for Mawem, as he tore his bicep near the end of the qualifying round (although he did manage to clock an Olympic speed record of 5.45 seconds prior to the injury derailment). Fortunately, he is fully healed and better than ever, evidenced by a first-place finish at the European Continental event last year that earned him a ticket to the Paris Olympics.
Career highlight (thus far): A World Cup victory in Moscow, Russia, in 2019, saw Bassa Mawem beat China’s Long Cao, Iran’s Reza Alipour Shenazandifard, Indonesia’s Aspar Aspar, and others who were among the fastest men in the world (and still are).
Why he could win in Paris: Mawem is yet to go sub-5 in a competition, but he has come close. If some of the faster climbers in Paris stumble or false-start, look to Mawem to prevail by staying calm amid the intense Olympic pressure.
Also Read: 8 Women to Watch in Boulder & Lead
Jinbao Long (CHN)
In 2021, the speed fan base became captivated by the Indonesian team, as Indonesian climbers began chipping away at the world record at an unprecedented rate. It was exciting, and as viewers got caught up in the ever-changing world records, it became easy to overlook the fact that the Chinese team—traditionally a speed powerhouse—was largely absent from the circuit due to lingering travel restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the China squad finally returned to the circuit in a big way, in 2022, it was Jinbao Long that led the charge. Long made the podium at a trio of successive speed World Cups in 2022—in Villars, Chamonix, and Edinburgh—and suddenly, with Team China’s reemergence, the dominance of the Indonesian team was not such a sure-thing anymore. Long eventually earned a silver medal at the World Championships in 2023 and qualified for the Paris Olympics, and it feels like he’s just starting to hit his stride. Fans can expect him to push the pace in Paris—and, along with his teammate Peng Wu, perhaps deliver multiple sub-5 runs—while being one of the most formidable challengers in the field.
Career highlight (thus far): Jinbao Long won a World Cup gold medal in Chamonix in 2022.
Why he could win in Paris: Long has repeatedly notched times near the five-second mark, and he is undoubtedly capable of running even faster. That mix of speed and uniformity could be his key to getting the gold medal. It doesn’t hurt that his compatriot and fellow Olympian Peng Wu recently clocked a blazing time of 4.83 seconds at the Olympic Qualifier Series. Perhaps that will give Long some healthy added pressure and motivation in Paris.
Veddriq Leonardo (INA)
There is a fascinating blip in the history of speed climbing’s fastest times. From approximately 2015 to 2021, the best times at World Cups typically hovered in the mid-5-second realm (5.76, 5.62, 5.55, 5.48, etc.). But then, at a World Cup in Salt Lake City in 2021, Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo set a new world record—5.20 seconds—and ushered in a whole new era of speed climbing. Suddenly there was no performative ceiling, and fans and pundits had to recalibrate perceptions of human potential in the speed discipline. Just as the sports world clamored to see a sprinter run a mile in less than four minutes in the spring of 1954, comp fans longed to witness a speed climber ascend a 15-meter wall in less than five seconds. Fittingly, when it finally happened, it was Leonardo who successfully accomplished it, clocking a run-time of 4.98 seconds at a World Cup in Seoul in 2023. Even though Leonardo no longer holds the world record (having relinquished it to Sam Watson earlier this year), Leonardo should still be considered one of the fastest men in the Olympic field and one of the favorites to win gold.
Career highlight (thus far): Veddriq Leonardo broke his own world record last year, which lowered his personal best time from 4.90 seconds to 4.85 seconds.
Why he could win in Paris: Aside from Sam Watson, there is nobody better than Veddriq Leonardo in the men’s field at consistently notching runs of sub-5.
Favorite Speed Climbers at Paris Olympics (Women)
Aleksandra Miroslaw (POL)
Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw once had an undefeated streak in speed World Cups that stretched from 2019 to the tail-end of the 2023 season. In a discipline rife with stumbles, slips, and false-starts, that is a remarkable statistic. Add to it that Miroslaw also owned the world record for part of that time—and still owns it. She also won World Championships in 2018 and 2019. Such accolades combine to form a resume that might never be duplicated on the comp scene. They also make Miroslaw an intimidating presence for anyone that will line up next to her for a race at the Paris Olympics. Additionally, Miroslaw will enter the Paris Olympics as a highly experienced competitor, as she participated in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 (and set the current Olympic record of 6.84 seconds). She will be the favorite in Paris, and, at 30 years old, she will likely be looking at the Paris Olympics as a fitting capstone to her career.
Career highlight (thus far): Aleksandra Miroslaw’s victories at the elite level date back to 2012, but a World Cup win this April in Wujiang proved that she’s still the best, even after all these years.
Why she could win in Paris: Miroslaw is the fastest woman in the world on the wall, a moniker earned and proven repeatedly at World Cups and World Championships.
Emma Hunt (USA)
The greatness of Team USA’s Emma Hunt was first viewed through an American lens. At a World Cup in Salt Lake City in 2022, she set an American national record of 7.17 seconds. In the months and years that followed, she repeatedly improved on that record (breaking it nearly 10 times over the course of the next two years) and ultimately landed on the current national record of 6.30 seconds. But as she claimed her space in the United States’ record book, she also made her presence known at the global level, particularly by earning World Cup medals in 2022 and 2023 (and a gold medal at Salt Lake City earlier this year). She’s yet to clock a time comparable to Miroslaw’s personal best of 6.24 seconds, but Hunt is extremely close. If Hunt lines up against Miroslaw at the Paris Olympics, it could very likely be the popcorn race of the event.
Career highlight (thus far): Emma Hunt’s silver medal at last year’s World Championships in Bern, Switzerland, was the first speed World Championship medal for an American woman.
Why she could win in Paris: Hunt’s American record, which was set at this year’s National Team Trials, is just 0.1 seconds slower than the world record. If there is anyone who is statistically capable of inching out Miroslaw on the speed wall and claiming Olympic gold, it’s Hunt.
Lijuan Deng (CHN)
China’s Lijuan Deng has been on the circuit since 2018, but her breakout year was 2022. She won two World Cups in a row that season—in Villars and Chamonix—and has more or less hovered around the podiums ever since. Furthermore, although Deng’s best competition times—around 6-and-a-half seconds—don’t quite nudge up against the world record the way that Emma Hunt’s best times do, Deng has more World Cup medals. Plus, analyzing Deng’s Olympic potential in that manner is sort of splitting hairs, as Deng seems to be perpetually improving. The fact is, Deng should be considered one of the top-tier speed climbers in the Olympic field, and Deng is someone who could spoil the party, so to speak, for the favorite, Miroslaw.
Career highlight (thus far): Lijuan Deng took part in last year’s World Championships, but her tenth place finish there did not do justice to her capabilities. She’s better than that. A better representation of her skill would be her first-place finish at the Asian Qualifier Series in Jakarta last year, which resulted in her Olympic berth.
Why she could win in Paris: Deng has an ability to consistently deliver smooth races in the pressure-cooker of competition, even if her times don’t shatter records.
Piper Kelly (USA)
There was a time, particularly in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics several years ago, when Piper Kelly was the face of American speed climbing. She owned the national record, and she was adjusting to the three-discipline Combined format while vying for a ticket to those Tokyo Olympics. But then she dislocated her shoulder, which proved to be an unfortunate termination to those Olympic ambitions. Her climbing career halted for a long time and she was still recovering from multiple dislocations—and surgery—when hype for the Paris Olympics began years later. Many fans didn’t want to admit it, but Kelly’s chances of returning to her post-injury level seemed unlikely. Yet, Kelly re-entered the World Cup scene and showed remarkable consistency. She participated in five World Cups in 2023 and always finished within the top 30. That same year, 2023, she won at the Pan Ams in Santiago, Chile, and punched her Olympic ticket. She clocked a run of 6.98 seconds earlier this year—her first time going sub-7—and it feels like she still has a lot of rocket fuel left in the tank.
Career highlight (thus far): Winning at the Pan Ams was the most impressive victory of Piper Kelly’s career, particularly since it entailed beating American teammates Emma Hunt (who false-started) and Sophia Curcio.
Why she could win in Paris: Kelly has been fine-tuning her beta since her return to full form—particularly with personal coach Albert Ok—and her times have steadily improved. As a result, there’s a growing feeling that Kelly’s best-ever run could happen at the Olympics.
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