Current individual world records
Checked October 26, 2026. The men's world record is 4.54 seconds by Zhao Yicheng (CHN), set at World Climbing Series Wujiang 2026 on May 10, 2026. The women's world record is 5.99 seconds by Emma Hunt (USA), set at World Climbing Series Krakow 2026 on July 4, 2026.
Why Speed has a real record system
Speed is the climbing discipline built for direct time comparison. World Climbing uses standardized parallel routes and officially recognizes world, continental and Olympic records. With the arrival of relay competition, men's, women's and mixed team records now extend the data model beyond individual runs.
Current official individual categories
Men
| Record | Time (s) | Athlete | Date set | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World | 4.54 | Zhao Yicheng (CHN) | May 10, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Africa | 5.62 | Joshua Bruyns (RSA) | July 11, 2025 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Asia | 4.54 | Zhao Yicheng (CHN) | May 10, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Europe | 4.79 | Leander Carmanns (GER) | August 29, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Oceania | 4.99 | Julian David (NZL) | July 10, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Pan America | 4.60 | Samuel Watson (USA) | July 4, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Olympic | 4.74 | Samuel Watson (USA) | August 8, 2024 | IFSC result · Olympics.com · Olympics.com | Oct 26, 2026 |
Women
| Record | Time (s) | Athlete | Date set | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World | 5.99 | Emma Hunt (USA) | July 4, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Africa | 7.99 | Aniya Holder (RSA) | September 18, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Asia | 6.06 | Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi (INA) | September 30, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Europe | 6.03 | Aleksandra Mirosław (POL) | September 24, 2025 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Oceania | 7.35 | Helen Lee (NZL) | October 23, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Pan America | 5.99 | Emma Hunt (USA) | July 4, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Olympic | 6.06 | Aleksandra Mirosław (POL) | August 5, 2024 | IFSC result · World Climbing · Olympics.com | Oct 26, 2026 |
Current relay world records
| Category | Time (s) | Athletes | Date set | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 9.58 | Ling Yongzhi / Zhao Yicheng (CHN) | September 13, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Women | 12.89 | Zhou Yafei / Deng Lijuan (CHN) | July 5, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Mixed | 10.89 | Samuel Watson / Emma Hunt (USA) | July 4, 2026 | IFSC record list · IFSC result | Oct 26, 2026 |
Continental relay records: relay records.
Record guides
Current Speed Climbing World Records
Current men's and women's speed climbing world records, with athlete, event, location, date and verification status.
Open reference →Men's Speed Climbing World Record Progression
Key milestones in the men's speed climbing world record progression, from the five-second barrier to Zhao Yicheng's 4.54-second record.
Open reference →Women's Speed Climbing World Record Progression
Key milestones in the women's speed climbing world record progression, including Aleksandra Mirosław's record era and Emma Hunt's first sub-six run.
Open reference →Speed Climbing Continental Records
Current African, Asian, European, Oceania and Pan American speed climbing records for men and women, checked October 26, 2026.
Open reference →Olympic Speed Climbing Records
Official Olympic speed climbing records from Paris 2024, and how an Olympic record differs from a world record.
Open reference →Speed Climbing Relay Records
Current men's, women's and mixed speed relay world records and why relay records are a new part of the sport's performance data.
Open reference →Speed Climbing Record Milestones
Major speed climbing performance milestones: sub-five men, sub-six women, Olympic breakthroughs and emerging relay barriers.
Open reference →Personal Best vs Official Speed Climbing Record
The difference between a speed climbing personal best, training time, event result, continental record, Olympic record and world record.
Open reference →SpeedClimbing.com Records Methodology & Source Policy
How SpeedClimbing.com verifies current records, handles historical progression, dates updates and separates official data from secondary reporting.
Open reference →The important difference: evergreen history vs live data
Historical context can remain accurate for years; a current-record card can become wrong tomorrow. This section therefore treats current values as dated data. Every current record includes a verification date and points to the governing source. Historical progression guides are explicit about whether they are complete ledgers or selected milestone timelines.
How records connect to the rest of the site
Records sit at the intersection of athletes, events, standardized equipment and competition rules. The Speed Wall hub explains why performances can be compared; the Competition hub explains eligible race contexts; and the Training hub explains how athletes try to move the frontier.
Key references
- PB vs record — personal bests vs official records
- Complete guide
- Speed wall layout — the standard wall every record is set on
Primary record sources
- World Climbing — Men's Speed Records
- World Climbing — Women's Speed Records
- World Climbing — Mixed Team Speed Relay Records
- World Climbing — Speed discipline overview
Current records are date-sensitive. Figures on SpeedClimbing.com were last checked against the World Climbing (IFSC) results service on October 26, 2026. Governing-body data supersedes this site if a record changes after that date.