Sport climbing World Cup Jakarta: Preview, schedule and how to watch speed and lead stars in action
Lead and speed are the two disciplines being contested this weekend, when the sport climbing World Cup takes place in Indonesia for the first time in history between 24 and 26 September. Find out everything you need to know about the competition below.
Sport Climbing
With Indonesia chosen as hosts of a World Cup event for the very first time, it’s only fitting that speed should be on the programme. In Kiromal Katibin and Veddriq Leonardo, the country has produced the holders of the last seven men’s world record climbs, with Katibin producing five of them in the span of three months between May and June of this year.
Following a fast and frantic speed session on Saturday 24 September, the lead competition will begin on Sunday with the semi-finals and finals taking place on Monday 26 September.
Will Olympic champion Janja Garnbret add more honours to her bulging trophy cabinet? Can world record holder Katibin shine at home? Find out what you need to know about the sport climbing World Cup in Jakarta below, including how to watch on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com live.
When and where will the sport climbing World Cup in Jakarta take place?
Originally scheduled to take place in Bali, the venue of the World Cup leg was moved to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, which is where the world’s best lead and speed climbers will battle for honours.
The competition begins at 2:00pm on Saturday 24 September with speed qualifications and ends with the men’s and women’s lead finals beginning at 7:15pm on Sunday 26 September.
Athletes to watch in Jakarta
Competing on home soil, Katibin and Leonardo will be eager to put on a show in front of a supportive crowd - especially as this is the first World Cup in Indonesia.
They enter the weekend one and two on the World Rankings, with Leonardo out in front on 3910 points and Katibin just behind on 3275.
Neither of the two competed in the last World Cup event in Edinburgh, Scotland, which saw the emergence of the USA’s 16-year-old climbing prodigy Samuel Watson who scored an impressive victory after a national record-breaking performance at the Youth Worlds.
The women’s speed competition in Scotland saw a continuance of the dominance of Polish climbers with twins Natalia and Aleksandra Kalucka competing against each other in the gold medal showdown where the latter came out on top.
The sisters are two of four Polish climbers in the top eight of the World Rankings and currently sit first and third, split only by the American talent Emma Hunt.
In the women’s lead competition, Japan’s Mori Ai has emerged as a real challenger to the dominance of Olympic gold medallist Janja Garnbret with two victories in as many World Cup meets, including a last-gasp win in Edinburgh. However, Mori is missing from the start list for Jakarta, leaving Garnbret as an odds-on favourite to extend her lead in the overall standings.
In the men’s competition, Luka Potocar is the man in form, having won silver and gold in his last two World Cup meets. However, the top spot on the podium in Edinburgh went to Jesse Grupper who scored his second gold of the season in the Scottish capital.
Sport climbing World Cup 2022 Jakarta schedule
All times are in the local timezone (UTC +7)
Saturday, 24 September:
2:00 PM Speed qualifications
7:30 PM Speed finals
Sunday, 25 September:
9:00 AM Lead qualifications
Monday, 26 September:
12:15 PM Lead semi-finals
7:15 PM Men's Lead final
Followed by Women's Lead final
How to watch action from the IFSC Sport Climbing World Cup 2022 Jakarta event
Action is livestreamed on Olympic Channel and available via the Olympics.com website and Olympics apps for mobile and connected TV devices right here (territorial restrictions may apply).