Wall climbing is an Olympic sport and 'Persian Cheetah' is the fastest at it
Alexis Allison | CBC Sports | Posted: May 1, 2017 10:40 PM | Last Updated: May 1, 2017
Iranian Reza Alipour sets world record of 5.48 seconds to scale 15-metre wall
Iran's Reza Alipour is quickly defining himself as the Usain Bolt of speed climbing.
The 23-year-old set a world record in winning gold at a World Cup climbing event in China this past weekend.
Alipour, nicknamed the 'Persian Cheetah' scaled a 15-metre wall in just 5.48 seconds, shattering the previous record of 5.60 seconds held by Ukraine's Danyil Boldyrev.
Russia's Aleksandr Shikov and Vladislav Deulin took silver and bronze, clocking times of 5.61 seconds and 7.36 seconds, respectively.
Speed climbing is one of three climbing disciplines that will be introduced at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, joining bouldering and sport climbing.
Alipour may have his work cut out for him on the Olympic stage, as the medals in Tokyo will be decided by combining the scores from all three disciplines in a kind of vertical triathlon.
Speed climbing is the only discipline that takes on a race format, pitting two competitors against each other where fastest time decides winner.
Bouldering requires competitors to scale different highly challenging climbs, unroped but above padded mats, in the shortest number of attempts.
Sport climbing, also known as lead climbing, requires participants to quickly determine the best route up a course. The competitor to make it the highest in the time allotted is declared the winner.
In addition to climbing, Tokyo 2020 will also welcome surfing, skateboarding, karate and baseball/softball as official Olympic sports.