It's Time for Lead Rock Climbing to Spread Its Charm at the World Cup

On a 15-meter climbing wall, Sukma Lintang Cahyani (20) reaches for one hold or point after another. Her hands stretch out, and her feet step firmly. Often, her body swings as she relies on her hands for support, or her body stretches across the points with her hands and feet acting as anchors. Her movements are fluid, resembling a dance, but on the wall.

Lintang was practicing lead rock climbing on Saturday (4/19/2025) afternoon. In the parking lot of the Santika Hotel in Harapan Indah City, Bekasi, where the national rock climbing training center is located, Lintang tried to reach the highest point on the wall with a significant slope.

Unlike speed discipline, lead is more of a test of agility and endurance for climbers. In the race, each climber gets one chance to climb as high as possible within six minutes. The challenge is that each race usually presents different climbing routes.

Lintang is training to solidify preparations for the 2025 Rock Climbing World Cup series in Wujiang, China, April 25-27, 2025. Together with another female climber, Nur Diatul Jannah, and two male climbers, Musauwir and Muhammad Rizky, Lintang will represent Indonesia for the lead discipline at the event held at the Fenhu Culture and Sports Center.

Lintang and colleagues will begin the race in the qualifying round on Friday (25/4/2025). They are part of 62 participants from various countries, each competing in the male and female categories.

"This is the first tournament of the year, so I am certainly very enthusiastic because this is where our skills and training results will be tested. I am determined to start this year with good results," said Lintang.

Lintang carries a personal mission. The climber from Yogyakarta aims to surpass her achievement in the World Cup series of climbing in Wujiang last year. At that time, Lintang was halted in the semifinals, finishing in 26th place. She ranked at the bottom.

In the upcoming Wujiang event, Lintang has set a target to reach the finals or the top eight. Lintang approaches this high target with enthusiasm and motivation, rather than feeling burdened. "This is also a challenge for myself," he stated.

The determination to surpass last year's achievements was also expressed by Musauwir (20). Like Lintang, Musauwir's journey also came to a halt in the semifinal round at that time. The climber from Aceh ranked 25th.

According to Musauwir, improving from last year's results is a must. It will be a good capital to face tournaments throughout 2025. Moreover, this year, Musauwir and other lead climbers will be included in competitions more often as they have entered a new phase of training.

"My personal target is to climb as much as possible, hopefully I can make it to the finals and then slowly target the podium," said Musauwir.

The coach of the Indonesian rock climbing team, Hendra Basir, said that the lead athletes have indeed started to enter the second phase in long-term preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. In this phase, they are training to be able to compete on the international stage.

In the first phase from 2020 to 2024, the training focuses on the development and establishment of the athletes' foundation. During this stage, endurance is the main focus. Following that, from 2025 to 2028, athletes will learn to compete, thereby increasing their experience in various competitions.

With this new phase, the composition of sending athletes to international events has also changed. The number of lead athletes competing has automatically increased from previous years. Last year, for example, Indonesia only sent two lead athletes to Wujiang, namely Musauwir and Lintang.

In addition, Hendra said, Wujiang will also initiate a change in "treatment" for the two rock climbing disciplines. The great pressure that was previously so great for the speed discipline, especially last year, has begun to be reduced this year. Most speed athletes are undergoing recovery while maintaining their performance.

On the other hand, the lead discipline will start to get the burden and pressure to start showing off and spreading its charm. Unlike previous years when this discipline has not received much pressure because it is still in the first phase.

"Our wish is to at least make it to the finals. That alone is already very cool," said Hendra.

When this second phase goes well, the final phase is to train to win. This stage is equivalent to the current speed. "The highest target (lead) is to be a finalist in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This is the highest target. Unlike speed, the highest target is to defend the gold medal," said Hendra.

Wujiang is the second series of the 2025 Rock Climbing World Cup after the first series was also held in China, precisely in Keqiao. However, the Keqiao series only competed in the boulder discipline. While in Wujiang, it was the turn of the lead and speed disciplines to be competed.

In Wujiang, Indonesian rock climbers in the lead discipline, who have so far been less popular than the speed discipline, are preparing to appear as the stars who steal the spotlight. This is the time for them to spread their charm, climb the walls with enthusiasm, and hold a future as high as the peak they must reach.