New Climbing Page After Olympic Gold

Veddriq Leonardo shouted shortly after his hand reached the finish button at the top of the climbing wall, Saturday (4/19/2024). Although he did not complete the climb in his best time, Veddriq was relieved. On two previous occasions, he slipped and made a false start.

In the speed climbing discipline, these two things are the risks that loom over athletes. Moreover, they are required to climb quickly, against gravity. This is similar to a short-distance race, but done on a wall.

Veddriq is undergoing training at the national climbing training center at the Santika Premier Hotel in Kota Harapan Indah, Bekasi, as preparation for his debut appearance in an international event this year. Alongside Kiromal Katibin and Alfian Muhammad Fajri, Veddriq will compete in the 2025 Climbing World Cup series in Wujiang, China, from April 25 to 27.

Rahmad Adi Mulyono, the male climber representing Indonesia at the Paris 2024 Olympics alongside Veddriq, was absent in Wujiang due to recovery from an injury. Similarly, the female climber from Indonesia who will compete in Paris, Rajiah Sallsabillah, has just undergone surgery to address her injury.

In the women's category, Indonesia will send the Olympian, Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi. Desak will be accompanied by two other female climbers, namely Puja Lestari and Susan Hidayah.

“It’s like starting a new beginning again, we restarted after the Olympics yesterday,” said Veddriq, the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist.

After the peak moment of achievement in Paris, Veddriq and other Indonesian climbers seem unwilling to get caught up in the euphoria. They have begun to train intensively again, even though the burden is not as heavy as in 2024.

However, Veddriq also emphasized that he will approach the event in Wujiang with a different mindset, although he still aims for sharper time records and achievements. "After the Olympics, the competitive landscape seems to be opening up. So, in these early tournaments, we will still try to gauge the strengths of other athletes. Later, we will see how it goes and perhaps we can use it for evaluation," said Veddriq.

Similar things were conveyed by Indonesian rock climbing coach, Hendra Basir. According to Hendra, the pressure for speed athletes to perform is being reduced this year. The strategy was carried out to give athletes time to recover, both mentally and physically, from fatigue and injury.

However, Hendra also emphasized that the coaching team cannot and will not stifle the athletes' ambitions to continue achieving. In fact, that ambition is important to ensure they do not perform significantly below their best capabilities.

"The desire to be a champion is certainly there, as well as the aim to improve personal time records, which should be achievable. Likewise, there are those who want to pursue world records. However, the main focus is on analyzing the strengths of potential competitors, especially for the 2026 Asian Games and the 2028 Olympics," said Hendra.

Kiromal Katibin has become one of the climbers determined to record his best time or even break the world record in Wujiang. Kiromal aims to showcase a performance similar to his debut at the World Cup, which took place during the series in Salt Lake City, United States, in 2021.

At that time, Kiromal not only succeeded in reaching the podium with a silver medal. He also became the first male climber to break the world record with a time of 5.25 seconds. At the same event, Veddriq broke Kiromal's world record with a time of 5.20 seconds.

Four years have passed, and the competition has become increasingly intense. The recorded times are getting shorter. No longer at 5 seconds, climbers are now competing to achieve times of 4 seconds. "In the past, it felt unimaginable to climb in under 5 seconds. It turns out it is possible. Now, most male climbers have already done it in under 5 seconds," said Kiromal.

"I see that climbers from other countries are also starting to sharpen their times to 4.6 seconds. Perhaps in Wujiang, it will become a 'battle' over who is the most consistent. I personally aim for a gold medal and hope to break the record," said the climber from Batang, Central Java.

One of the climbers who has demonstrated his ability to record a time of 4.6 seconds is the athlete from the United States, Samuel Watson. On his Instagram account, Watson uploaded a video of himself finishing in that time. He even stated that he would break the world record again in Wujiang.

Watson currently holds the world record with a time of 4.74 seconds that he set at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 19-year-old climber will compete against Kiromal, Veddriq, and Alfian along with 51 other male athletes in Wujiang.

In the women's category, Desak also carries ambitions for achievement. Despite being in the recovery phase from an elbow injury, Desak aims for good results at the beginning of the year.

"The results from last year, especially the Olympics, I try to forget, now I am looking at new targets. This new target is what reignites my spirit," said Desak, who suffered a dramatic defeat in the quarter-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

"Now I want to try to be calmer, more focused, and better at controlling myself. I hope to remain fit and healthy because the weather is unpredictable," said Desak.

Puja Lestari and Susan Hidayah are more focused on breaking their personal time records. They are determined to surpass their own time records before aiming for the podium.

In Wujiang, the name of Polish athlete, Aleksandra “Ola” Miroslaw, is listed as one of the participants. Ola, the gold medalist of the Paris 2024 Olympics and the world record holder with a time of 6.06 seconds, will be one of the strong competitors against Desak and her colleagues.

After carving out a golden history in Paris, the climbers from Indonesia are now opening a new chapter with calmer hearts, yet undiminished spirit. On the climbing walls in Wujiang, they will re-examine the meaning of ambition and reinforce their dreams of reaching even greater heights.