I won the men's speed final at the World Climbing Series in Krakow on July 4, 2026, in 4.60 seconds, a personal best, ahead of Zhao Yicheng in 4.69 and Raharjati Nursamsa in 4.79. Later the same day, Emma Hunt and I set the first Speed Mixed Relay world record, 10.89. Krakow gave me two of the best runs of my life in one weekend.
What were the Krakow 2026 men's speed results?
The podium, from the final on the new four-lane wall:
- 1st: Sam Watson (USA), 4.60. Personal best, first World Cup win of the 2026 season.
- 2nd: Zhao Yicheng (CHN), 4.69. The world record holder, beaten on the day.
- 3rd: Raharjati Nursamsa (INA), 4.79.
Krakow was also the event where the four-lane finals era began, and the weekend the women's record fell: Emma Hunt ran 5.99 in the quarter-finals, the first woman in history under six seconds. Every one of my results, from this event back to 2021, is on my results page.
How did the 4.60 happen?
The final came down to execution. Zhao ran 4.69 next to me, which on most days this season wins the round. The difference was the start: feet set early, weight already moving at the beep, and a clean connection through the ladder with nothing to correct. When I slapped the pad and saw 4.60, I knew it was a personal best before I saw the placing. A clean run tells you about itself while it is happening. This one was quiet the whole way up.
What is my personal best in speed climbing?
4.60 seconds, set in this final on July 4, 2026. For context on where that sits: the world record is Zhao Yicheng's 4.54, my own 4.64 stood as the record into April 2026, and the full history of how these numbers keep falling is in my records explainer.
The relay: first names in the book
The inaugural Speed Mixed Relay gave Emma and me one shot at being the first names in a brand new record book, and we took it: 10.89. That race deserved its own piece, so I wrote one: what the Speed Mixed Relay is and what our record run was like.
What changes after a personal best?
Zhao's record stands at 4.54, and my 4.60 tells me the gap is execution, not ceiling. The splits from Krakow show exactly where the next tenth lives: a hundredth in the reaction, most of the rest in one transition mid-wall that I know how to train. That is the work between now and Los Angeles, and I am doing it in public: the season plan lives in my road to LA 2028.
Quick answers
Who won speed climbing at Krakow 2026?
Sam Watson of the United States won the men's event in 4.60. Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi of Indonesia won the women's final, on the weekend Emma Hunt set the 5.99 world record in the earlier rounds.
Is 4.60 a world record?
No. The men's world record is 4.54, set by Zhao Yicheng in May 2026. My 4.60 is my personal best and was the winning time in the Krakow final.
Want the full system behind these numbers? Every drill, every hold, every second: it is all on LearnSpeedClimbing.
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