Amid enthusiastic cheers from the home crowd, Chinese climbers Long Jianguo and Zhang Shaoqin delivered outstanding performances, both clinching gold medals in the men’s and women’s speed finals at the 2025 IFSC Climbing World Cup (Wujiang Fenhu, China) on April 26. This event also marked the first World Cup stop of the new season for speed climbing.

After the speed climbing qualifiers on April 25, the Chinese team advanced 10 female and 6 male athletes into the top 16 for the final rounds. With the world’s top climbers gathered, the competition was fierce. In the women's speed event, after the rounds of 16 and quarterfinals, only Deng Lijuan and Zhang Shaoqin from China made it into the semifinals. On the men's side, Long Jianguo was the sole Chinese climber to reach the final four.

In the semifinals, Deng Lijuan made a mistake in her match against teammate Zhang Shaoqin but quickly regrouped. She clocked an impressive 6.34 seconds in the bronze medal match, securing a World Cup bronze for China’s women’s speed team.

Meanwhile, in the gold medal match, Zhang Shaoqin faced South Korean star Jeong Ji-min with boldness and determination, achieving a personal best of 6.32 seconds to take the title.

In the men’s competition, Long Jianguo adopted a relaxed mindset after reaching the semifinals. Facing Indonesia’s former world record holder Kiromal Katibin, Long staged a thrilling showdown, setting a personal best of 4.81 seconds and edging out his opponent by just 0.02 seconds.

In the final, Long maintained his momentum, winning the gold with a time of 4.88 seconds. Ukraine’s Hryhorii Ilchyshyn and Katibin shared silver and bronze, while American star and current world record holder Samuel Watson finished fourth.