The Speed Mixed Relay pairs one man and one woman from the same nation, each climbing the standard 15 meter wall, with the combined time deciding the result. Emma Hunt and I won the discipline's debut at the World Climbing Series in Krakow on July 4, 2026, setting the first world record in its history: 10.89 seconds. Whatever happens to that number, nobody can ever be first again.
What is the Speed Mixed Relay?
It is the team version of the fastest discipline in climbing. Two climbers, one nation, one combined time against another pair in the opposite lanes. The wall is the same standardized 15 meters as the individual event, so everything you know about speed climbing still applies. What changes is that half of the race happens while you watch, powerless, and half of it happens with a teammate's run already written into your starting position.
What is the Speed Mixed Relay world record?
10.89 seconds, set by Emma Hunt and me in the final in Krakow on July 4, 2026. Because Krakow was the discipline's first event at this level, ours is the first entry in a record book that will be attacked for decades. On the same day, in the same arena, Emma also became the first woman in history under six seconds on the individual wall, running 5.99 in the quarter-finals. Krakow was a good weekend to be wearing USA on your back.
How is a relay different from an individual race?
In my individual race, the only nervous system that matters is mine. In the relay, I experienced something new: watching a race I was in. The pressure is asymmetric and strange. Run first and you are setting a platform, knowing every hundredth you leave on the wall becomes weight your partner carries. Run second and you launch already ahead or already behind, and both change how the wall feels. The relay taught me that trust is a physical sensation.
What was that final actually like?
The individual final earlier that day had already given me a 4.60 personal best and the World Cup title, which I wrote about in my Krakow race report. The relay final distilled the entire weekend into one shared countdown. When the combined clock stopped at 10.89 and the record flag went up, the first feeling was not speed or relief. It was the rare pleasure of an achievement that is structurally impossible to have alone.
Why does the relay matter for the sport?
Speed climbing is the most broadcast-friendly discipline in climbing: short, head to head, and legible to anyone in five seconds. The relay adds the one ingredient the individual race lacks, a team, and with it nations and rivalries. It is not on the Olympic program for LA 2028, and I am careful not to guess beyond that. But stand in an arena when a relay finishes and you can hear the case for it.
Quick answers
Who holds the Speed Mixed Relay world record?
Emma Hunt and Sam Watson of the United States: 10.89 seconds, set in Krakow on July 4, 2026, in the discipline's debut event.
How many climbers are on a mixed relay team?
Two: one woman and one man from the same nation, with their times combined.
Is the mixed relay an Olympic event?
Not currently. The LA 2028 program has Speed, Boulder and Lead as individual medal events. I explain the full format in my LA 2028 guide.
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