The 2026 season, stop by stop.

A record-breaking spring in China

The 2026 speed season belonged, above all, to a 16-year-old. Zhao Yicheng赵一程Zhào Yīchéng of China arrived at the 6th Asian Beach Games in Sanya in late April for his first senior international start and promptly rewrote the record book. In the men's speed qualification on April 28, 2026, he clocked 4.58 seconds on the standard 15m wall, bettering the 4.64s that USA's Sam Watson, the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist, had set at the 2025 World Cup in Bali. Zhao went on to take gold after Indonesia's Antasyafi Robby Al Hilmi false-started in the decider.

Less than two weeks later he did it again. At the World Climbing Series Wujiang stop (May 8-10, 2026), Zhao lowered his own world record to 4.54 seconds in the semi-final, beating former record holder Watson (4.67s in that heat) before taking the title. Long Jianguo龙见国Lóng Jiànguó of China took silver, Watson bronze. Zhao, a three-time world youth champion who turned 17 in June, closed the spring as the fastest man in history and the sport's runaway favorite heading toward LA28.

The renamed circuit and the four-lane debut in Madrid

Following the International Federation of Sport Climbing's rebrand to World Climbing in December 2025, 2026 marked the first season of the World Climbing Series, a 13-stop calendar with speed featuring at Wujiang, Madrid, Kraków, Chamonix, Guiyang, Chongqing and the Santiago finale. The series also introduced the head-to-head four-lane speed format, which made its World Climbing Series debut at the Comunidad de Madrid stop in Alcobendas (May 28-31, 2026). Santiago, Chile (October 23-25) is the finale and the first-ever World Climbing Series event held in Chile.

Hunt breaks six seconds in Kraków

The season's biggest women's milestone came on U.S. Independence Day. At the World Climbing Series Kraków stop, American Olympian Emma Hunt ran 5.99 seconds in the July 4, 2026 quarter-finals to become the first woman ever under six seconds, shaving 0.04s off Aleksandra Mirosław's 6.03s record (set at the 2025 World Championships in Seoul). In a twist, Hunt did not win gold: a slip in a later run let Indonesia's Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi take the title in 6.54s.

The same weekend produced another first: the inaugural Speed Mixed Relay world record. Hunt and Watson (USA) qualified in 11.22s and then won the final in 10.89 seconds, ahead of Indonesia 2 (Al Hilmi/Desak Made Rita) at 11.48s.

Mirosław's farewell season

The 2026 campaign is the last for Aleksandra Mirosław, Poland's Paris 2024 Olympic champion, who announced on her 32nd birthday that she would retire at the end of the season. With 14 World Cup golds, three World Championship titles and (until Kraków) the world record, she remains competitive, and her home appearance in Kraków was billed as her final bow on the international circuit. The 2026 Wujiang women's title went to her compatriot Aleksandra Kałucka.

Standout performers to watch

Beyond the record-setters, Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo (reigning Olympic champion, ~4.83s in the Shanghai final) and veteran Kiromal Katibin keep the men's field deep, while China's Zhou Yafei周娅菲Zhōu Yàfēi (Asian Beach Games gold) and Deng Lijuan邓丽娟Dèng Lìjuān (Paris 2024 silver) anchor a formidable women's squad.