Ready for more Climbing World Cup action? After the excitement of last week's bumper bouldering and lead competition, the world's best speed climbers are ready and waiting to get back on the wall as the world's premier climbing competition returns to Poland for the first time in 15 years.
Speed climbing superstars like China's Deng Lijuan and Sam Watson of the USA will be eager to continue scaling this year's leaderboard in the fourth of five speed climbing rounds.
Read on for our preview of the upcoming event in Krakow, which includes the schedule, information on how to watch the competition, and who to look out for on the wall.
Ones to watch
Men's competition
Before the season began, USA's Sam Watson was a nailed-on favorite for the 2025 speed climbing series victory. The 19-year-old broke the speed world record twice at the Paris 2024 Olympics and was a dominant force in last year's World Cup.
Yet, with two competitions to go, the event remains wide open, and the eventual series winner is anyone's guess. There have been three different victors from three competitions so far, and despite a crushing victory at the second round in Bali, Watson has been pipped by both Long Jianguo and Kiromal Katabin.
Indonesia's Katabin stood out from the pack when he sped to gold in the previous round in Denver, USA. The 24-year-old's gold-medal-winning time of 4.83 seconds was particularly impressive considering the windy conditions at the outdoor event. Less than 100 points currently separate him and Watson atop the series leaderboard, and gold for either man would go a long way to securing the coveted series victory.
Olympic champion and fellow Indonesian Leonardo Veddriq is also in with a shout. At 28, Veddriq is something of a veteran by sport climbing standards but has put his experience to good use with eight World Cup victories over a long speed climbing career.
Women's competition
The women's speed climbing competition has been a similarly open affair, with three climbers taking the top spot so far.
The previous competition was won by the young and hungry Emma Hunt after stormy weather forced climbers off the wall in Denver. The 22-year-old USA athlete was the fastest in qualification and took home the gold as a result, beating out experienced competitors like Poland's Aleksandra Miroslaw and Lijuan Deng of China.
Miroslaw has also impressed in this year's competition. After a sub-standard first round, she shot up the leaderboard with a convincing win at the following event in Bali, Indonesia. A second-place finish in Denver solidified her position as one of the frontrunners for the series victory, something she could take another step towards with gold in her home country.
Deng can also count herself as a favorite. The 25-year-old has built an admirable sport climbing career by consistently getting among the medals at IFSC events and came second to Miroslaw in the Paris 2024 Olympics. She'll be keen to pip her rival and secure a first gold of the season when the action gets going on July 5.
IFSC World Cup Schedule
Qualification
- 4am PT (July 5) / 7am EST (July 5) / 12pm BST (July 5) Women's qualification
- 5.15am PT (July 5) / 8.15am EST (July 5) / 1.15pm BST (July 5) Men's qualification
Finals
- 3am PT (July 6) / 6am EST (July 6) / 11am BST (July 6) Men's and women's finals
What is the IFSC World Cup?
The IFSC World Cup is a year-long climbing competition that pits the world's best climbers head-to-head in lead climbing, speed climbing, and bouldering competitions.
It takes place over 14 different World Cup stages, held across the globe and throughout the year.
Points from each competition are tallied up, and climbers are ranked on separate leaderboards for each discipline. These rankings decide the eventual world champions.
How to watch the IFSC World Cup
There are loads of ways to watch the upcoming World Cup competition, with plenty of broadcasters and streaming services providing coverage.
Check out how you can watch where you are with our expert guide.
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