Current individual world records
As verified August 19, 2026, Zhao Yicheng (China) holds the men's world record at 4.54 seconds, set in Wujiang on May 10, 2026. Emma Hunt (USA) holds the women's record at 5.99 seconds, set in Kraków 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 | Athlete | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 4.54 | Zhao Yicheng (CHN) | May 10, 2026 |
| Africa | 5.62 | Joshua Bruyns (RSA) | July 11, 2025 |
| Asia | 4.54 | Zhao Yicheng (CHN) | May 10, 2026 |
| Europe | 4.84 | Hryhorii Ilchyshyn (UKR) | May 10, 2026 |
| Oceania | 4.99 | Julian David (NZL) | July 10, 2026 |
| Pan America | 4.60 | Samuel Watson (USA) | July 4, 2026 |
| Olympic | 4.75 | Samuel Watson (USA) | August 6, 2024 |
Women
| Record | Time | Athlete | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 5.99 | Emma Hunt (USA) | July 4, 2026 |
| Africa | 9.12 | Aniya Holder (RSA) | August 5, 2024 |
| Asia | 6.07 | Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi (INA) | April 9, 2026 |
| Europe | 6.03 | Aleksandra Mirosław (POL) | September 24, 2025 |
| Oceania | 7.70 | Mila Piatek (NZL) | July 21, 2026 |
| Pan America | 5.99 | Emma Hunt (USA) | July 4, 2026 |
| Olympic | 6.06 | Aleksandra Mirosław (POL) | August 5, 2024 |
Explore the records data center
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 →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
A history page can remain accurate for years; a current-record card can become wrong tomorrow. This section therefore treats current values as dated data. Every current page carries a verification date and points to the governing source. Historical progression pages are explicit about whether they are complete ledgers or selected milestone timelines.
How records connect to the knowledge graph
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.
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.