Seoul to host sport climbing world championships for 1st time

SEOUL, 19 September (BelTA - Yonhap) - South Korea will host the world's premier sport climbing competition for the first time beginning this weekend, with homegrown athletes set to compete for medals in front of partisan crowds.

The 19th edition of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Climbing World Championships will run from Sunday to Sept. 28 at Olympic Park in southeastern Seoul, with over 1,000 climbers from some 60 nations in action.

The IFSC held its first world championships in 1991 and South Korea won the right to host the 19th edition of the competition during the IFSC General Assembly in Singapore in 2023.

South Korea will send 11 female and 11 male climbers to all three disciplines.

In lead, the objective for climbers is to ascend as high as possible on a route set on a 15-meter wall within six minutes.

Boulder presents a problem-solving mission for climbers. The aim is to complete the most routes in the lowest number of attempts on 4m walls over a given period of time.

In speed competitions, the goal is to be the fastest to the top of a 15m wall.

The championships will begin with lead qualifications on Sunday. The first medals will be awarded Wednesday in the women's speed, followed by the men's speed Thursday.

Lead finals for both men and women will be Friday, while the women's boulder final will be Sept. 27 and the men's boulder final will be Sept. 28.