{"id":17075,"date":"2026-10-26T08:39:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T00:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=17075"},"modified":"2026-10-26T08:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T00:39:10","slug":"yicheng-and-lijuan-complete-chinese-double","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/yicheng-and-lijuan-complete-chinese-double\/","title":{"rendered":"Yicheng and Lijuan complete Chinese double"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

China completed a golden double in the Speed finals at the World Climbing Series Santiago, with Zhao Yicheng and Deng Lijuan triumphing in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s events, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Yicheng, the victory was particularly significant: the world record holder opened and closed the Speed Series 2026 with gold medals, adding the season title to his achievements after a close battle with Japan\u2019s Omasa Ryo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the women\u2019s competition, Lijuan defeated USA\u2019s Emma Hunt in the gold medal race, but Hunt had already done enough to secure her second consecutive Speed Series title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yicheng delivered when it mattered most, defeating Indonesia\u2019s Raharjati Nursamsa in the men\u2019s gold medal race with a time of 4.74 seconds. Nursamsa stopped the clock at 5.06 after missing the finish pad on his first touch, handing the Chinese climber a decisive victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result completed a remarkable season for Yicheng, who also won gold at the opening Speed Series event of the year in Wujiang, China. His second victory of the campaign secured his first-ever men\u2019s Speed Series title, capping a season in which he established himself as one of the discipline\u2019s leading performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yicheng said: “I feel great. This competition has been dramatic, I faced some challenged in the qualification round, my ranking was lower than usual because I fell in my first climb and I was very nervous in the second one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In the final I just wanted to enjoy the competition and I’m satisfied with my performance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan\u2019s Omasa Ryo, Yicheng\u2019s closest rival in the season-long title race, finished third in Santiago after beating China\u2019s Chu Shouhong in the bronze medal race. Although Omasa could not prevent Yicheng from claiming the overall crown, his podium finish ensured he closed the season as runner-up in the Speed Series Ranking presented by Euroholds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final men\u2019s standings saw Yicheng finish on 4,485 points, ahead of Omasa on 4,290, and Nursamsa on 3,810.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lijuan secured China\u2019s second gold medal of the day by defeating Emma Hunt in a high-profile women\u2019s gold medal race featuring two of the four women in the field with personal bests below 6.10 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gold medal race did not go entirely to plan for Hunt, who slipped a few moves from the finish. Lijuan crossed the line in 6.38 seconds, while the American finished in 6.98, giving the Chinese climber the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m very happy for this gold medal, my season didn’t start very well, but I finally found myself in the last few events,” commented Lijuan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite missing out on the gold medal in Santiago, Hunt had already secured the biggest prize of her season. The US climber retained her women\u2019s Speed Series title, becoming the first woman since France\u2019s Anouck Jaubert in 2017 and 2018 to win the overall crown in consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hunt finished the campaign with 4,441 points, ahead of Ukraine\u2019s Polina Khalkevych on 3,620, and Indonesia\u2019s Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi on 3,450.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the other highlights of the women\u2019s final came from USA\u2019s Isis Rothfork, who claimed the first podium finish of her career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rothfork faced China\u2019s Mou Yuju in the bronze medal race and prevailed in 7.32 seconds, with Mou finishing in 7.41. The result gave the American a memorable end to the season, adding a career milestone to a final that also featured the two fastest women in the field battling for gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With China celebrating a double victory, Zhao claiming his first overall Speed title, and Hunt making history with a second consecutive crown, the Santiago finals brought the Speed Series 2026 to a fitting conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the World Climbing Series 2026 wrapped up in Santiago, two international events remain on the calendar: the World Climbing Para Series Gunsan 2026, taking place from 29 to 30 October, and the World Climbing Para Series Fukuoka 2026, scheduled for 5 to 6 November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China completed a golden double in the Speed finals at the World Climbing Series Santiago, with Zhao Yicheng<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[412,102],"class_list":["post-17075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-speed","tag-sport-climbing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t