Emma Hunt and Samuel Watson of the USA (Photo World Climbing)
The World Climbing Series Kraków witnessed another historic milestone as the Speed mixed relay event made its World Climbing debut. Thirty-two teams representing 20 nations started in the inaugural qualification round, with Team USA 1 taking first place ahead of today’s finals.
Unlike the men’s and women’s relay events, which debuted internationally at last year’s edition of The World Games in Chengdu, China, the Speed mixed relay had never previously been contested at international level.
Emma Hunt and Samuel Watson of the USA combined to set the first world record in Speed mixed relay history, stopping the clock in 11.22 seconds to top qualification. Their performance also established the inaugural Pan American record in the discipline.
Indonesia 2, represented by Antasyafi Robby Al Hilmi and Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, finished second in 11.48, setting the first Asian record. Ukraine 2’s Polina Khalkevych and Yaroslav Tkach qualified sixth in 11.94, a time that became the inaugural European record.
Although they did not advance to the finals, New Zealand’s Sarah Tetzlaff and Ned Johnston also entered the record books, setting the first Oceania record with 17.90 seconds in 30th place.
With no African teams competing in Kraków, the continent’s first Speed mixed relay record remains to be established.
Twelve nations qualified at least one team for tomorrow’s final, with China, Indonesia, Italy, and Spain each advancing two pairs to the knockout rounds.
The final qualification spot went to host nation Poland, where fiancés Anna Brożek and Marcin Dzieński combined to clock 12.99 seconds for Poland 1, securing 16th place and the last ticket to the finals.
Brożek welcomed the introduction of the Mixed Relay, saying: “It’s super fun. There is a different kind of pressure, less pressure than an individual one.”
Competing alongside her fiancé made the experience even more enjoyable: “I think it just makes it more fun. I think we know each other so well that it was easier to have fun in this. There was no discussion on who was going first. I was the first one in Chengdu last year, and he did a men’s relay with Oskar in Madrid and he went second, so we just stuck to it.”
The Polish climber admitted she had been concerned about competing at home after arriving only the day before: “I left my house only yesterday so I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to get into the right mode coming from home, but when I got here, being in the hotel made me feel like it was a competition again. This is really a nice place to have the competition.”
With two finals awaiting her tomorrow, Brożek hopes to carry today’s momentum forward.
“I’m really tired after this because I did the individual and the mixed relay, and tomorrow I’m in the individual finals and the mixed relay finals. I want to have that same vibe I had today,” she concluded.
Dzieński was equally enthusiastic about the discipline: “It’s super fun. I was relaxed and I kind of love it, and I hope it’s going to stay for long in our discipline.”
He also joked about the team’s race order.
“I loved to race with my fiancée. She wanted to go first, so I didn’t have a choice, but I think it was a good decision because I felt confident on the second race and I think I had a really good reaction time.”
Looking ahead to the final, Dzieński already has a target in mind: “My goal is that Anya should do six seconds, so I can do 5.10 and it’s gonna be okay!”
