World Climbing Series Kraków

On the Fourth of July, in a speed-only spectacle staged in Kraków, American Emma Hunt became the first woman in history to climb the 15-meter wall in under six seconds, 5.99 in the quarter-finals, slicing 0.04 off Aleksandra Mirosław's world record of 6.03 set at the 2025 World Championships in Seoul.

In one of the season's great twists, the record didn't buy the title. A slip in a later run opened the door, and Indonesia's Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, the 2025 World Games champion, took gold in 6.54. Hunt settled for silver and the fastest run ever recorded by a woman.

The same weekend delivered another first: the inaugural Speed Mixed Relay at a World Climbing Series event. Hunt and Sam Watson qualified in 11.22, then won the final in 10.89, the event's first-ever world record, ahead of Indonesia's Al Hilmi and Desak Made Rita at 11.48. China's Zhou Yafei and Zhao Yicheng took bronze in an 11.17 Asian record.

The men's individual title went to the USA's Sam Watson, who produced a lifetime-best 4.60 in the first four-lane final to hold off world record holder Zhao Yicheng (4.69 silver) and Indonesia's Raharjati Nursamsa (4.79 bronze).

For the home crowd, Kraków was also a farewell: it was billed as Mirosław's final international appearance on Polish soil before her retirement at the end of 2026.