Today, the 19th Speed World Championship will start in Bern, Switzerland, and it will be a special one with two Olympic places for the gold and silver medalists for men and women.
The World Championship will be the biggest competition of the season, with 82 Men and 59 women confirmed for the World Championship, and the fastest will be there.
Twenty men competing have PRs below 5.3 seconds, so expect a fast qualification round. The fastest ever was in Chamonix, with a time under 5.27 needed to reach the final. Will we beat that time?
Three of the four Indonesian athletes have run under 5 seconds: Leonard Veddriq, Kiromal Katibin and Rahmad Adi Mulyono. Aspar Aspar is also attending from Indonesia, though we will miss Raharjati Nursamsa, who won in Jakarta earlier this year. We have a full squad of 5 Chinese athletes, including Jinguao Long, Jinbao Long, Liang Zhang, Peng Wu, and Xinshang Wang. All have won World Cup medals.
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Personal Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonardo Veddriq | Indonesia | 4.902 |
| 2 | Kiromal Katibin | Indonesia | 4.976 |
| 3 | Rahmad Adi Mulyono | Indonesia | 4.979 |
| 4 | Peng Wu | China | 5.019 |
| 5 | Samuel Watson | USA | 5.029 |
| 6 | Rishat Khaibullin | Kazakhstan | 5.052 |
| 7 | Jinbao Long | China | 5.054 |
| 8 | Xinshang Wang | China | 5.057 |
| 9 | Jianguo Long | China | 5.060 |
| 10 | Euncheol Shin | South Korea | 5.131 |
The top 9 women have PRs below 7 seconds, and the top 20 are below 7.3 seconds. The fastest-ever qualification round was in Villars at 7.36 seconds, so expect an even faster round in Bern.
Aleksandra Miroslaw leads the group. Her World Record of 6.25 seconds has gone untroubled. Only Natalia Kalucka and Lijuan Deng have dipped under 6.5 seconds this year.
Miroslaw has won 2 World Championship golds. If she wins in Bern, she will equal Olena Ryepko’s (Ukraine) record of three World Championship golds.
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Personal Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleksandra Miroslaw | Poland | 6.25 |
| 2 | Natalia Kalucka | Poland | 6.453 |
| 3 | Lijuan Deng | China | 6.475 |
| 4 | Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi | Indonesia | 6.521 |
| 5 | Aleksandra Kalucka | Poland | 6.64 |
| 6 | Emma Hunt | USA | 6.688 |
| 7 | Di Niu | China | 6.742 |
| 8 | Rajiah Sallsabillah | Indonesia | 6.767 |
| 9 | Jimin Jeong | South Korea | 6.864 |
| 10 | Nurul Iqamah | Indonesia | 7.053 |
Predictions
| Women | |
|---|---|
| ★ ★ ★ | Aleksandra Miroslaw |
| ★ ★ | Natalia Kalucka, Lijuan Deng |
| ★ | Emma Hunt, Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, Di Nui, Aleksandra Kalucka |
| Men | |
|---|---|
| ★ ★ ★ | Veddriq Leonardo |
| ★ ★ | Peng Wu, Samuel Watson |
| ★ | Kiromal Katibin, Aspar Aspar, Rishat Khaibullin, Jinbao Long |
Schedule
10 August, 09:00 - 12:00 Men & Women Speed Qualification
10 August, 20:00 - 21:00 Men & Women Speed Final
More details. All times are UTC+2.
Where to Watch
- Eurosport Player within Europe,
- ESPN Latin America and the Olympic Channel for Central and South America
- TVRI in Indonesia
- The IFSC YouTube Channel for other countries
You can catch up on the competition 24 hours afterwards on the Olympic Channel.
