Not every fast time is a record
A personal best is the fastest performance credited to an athlete under the definition being used. An official record is a governed category requiring eligible conditions and recognition by the relevant authority.
Personal best
A PB can come from a sanctioned competition or, informally, from training. Athletes and coaches should label the context. A gym-timed PB is useful for development but should not be represented as an official record merely because it is faster than a published continental time.
Competition result
An event result records what happened in a specific competition. In elimination racing, placement depends on the bracket result as well as the clock. An athlete can post a spectacular time yet not win the event.
Official record
World Climbing recognizes world, continental and Olympic Speed records and now relay categories. The official list controls whether a performance currently holds a record designation.
Hundredths, thousandths and display precision
Historical World Climbing clarification explains that official Speed result times are recorded to hundredths for record purposes, while thousandths can be used for tie-breaking under applicable rules. Current competition rules should be checked for operational details.
Recommended language
Use “world record” only for a recognized world record; “continental record” for the named continent; “Olympic record” for the Olympic category; “PB” for an athlete's personal best; and “training best” or “unofficial time” when the run is outside official record recognition.
Records & performance data
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, verified August 19, 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 →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 →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-record pages are date-sensitive. Figures on SpeedClimbing.com were verified against World Climbing on August 19, 2026. Governing-body data supersedes this site if a record changes after that date.