China sweeps speed climbing relay golds at Chengdu World Games

CHENGDU -- Host China capped the climbing competition at the World Games on Saturday by sweeping the men's and women's speed relay finals, finishing the event with five of the six gold medals on offer.

The relay, a new format making its debut at a major international event, pairs two athletes on a team. The second climber starts only after the first hits the timing pad at the top, and the combined time determines the final result. The competition in Chengdu also produced the first men's and women's world records in the discipline.

The men's field featured some of the sport's biggest names. American Samuel Watson, the individual world record holder, and teammate Zachary Hammer faced China's Chu Shouhong and Long Jianguo - both fresh off individual golds - in the semifinals. Watson, still nursing a shoulder injury, delivered a clean run, but Hammer slipped, sending the Chinese duo to the final.

There the Chinese duo met another US pair, 18-year-old Michael Hom and 17-year-old Logan Schlecht. Both teams went error-free, but Chu and Long prevailed in 10.26 seconds, each claiming a second gold medal of the Games.

"It was a tough day. We've been competing for two days already, so I was very tired. Today's win was part strength, part luck," Chu said. Long added that he entered the final more relaxed thanks to another Chinese team's strong showing in qualifying. "This is a team victory," he said. "This medal feels heavier than our individual ones."

Watson and Hammer recovered to beat Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo and Alfian Muhammad Fajri for bronze, setting a world record of 10.06 seconds.

"My shoulder is still affecting me specifically in some of the top moves, the very last move with the left shoulder pull," admitted Watson. "But I'm generally confident that I'll be back in form. The injury is pretty manageable," he added.

After the Paris Olympics, men's speed climbing has increasingly become a duel between China and the United States. But Saturday's medalists all expressed respect for their rivals.

"The atmosphere in our climbing community is really good," Long said. "My English isn't great, but every time I see Samuel and the others I would always say hello. I know Watson has been dealing with an injury, so we didn't get to see his peak form. I hope he can return to the top soon."

"I myself, I study his data," Schlecht said with a laugh, pointing toward Chu. "All of the Chinese athletes are incredibly strong, and they're always a force to be reckoned with on the field, so it's pretty cool to get to compete against them."

On the women's side, China's Deng Lijuan and Zhou Yafei dominated, breaking the world record three times in one day, lowering it to 13.28 seconds in the semifinals before defeating compatriots Qin Yumei and Zhang Shaoqin for gold.

Asked about their record-breaking run, Deng stayed composed. "We heard about it, but that's not our focus," she said. "We're more focused on each move, climbing cleanly, and doing our job."