GUIYANG, China, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- World record holder Zhao Yicheng won the U19 men's speed climbing title at the 2026 Asian Youth Climbing Championships on Monday, clocking 4.69 seconds to make amends for a false start at the same venue last year.
The 17-year-old Chinese produced three sub-4.90-second runs from the quarterfinals onward. Despite a minor mistake in the quarterfinal, Zhao recovered to advance and went on to claim the title.
After the victory, Zhao made a phone-call gesture toward the cameras, saying it was a message to his younger self from a year ago: "You don't have to rush your start to win the title."
"I came to this Asian Youth Championships because I wanted to make up for a regret, and another purpose was to get used to this wall and prepare for the World Climbing Series Guiyang stop," Zhao said.
He said he had deliberately controlled his starts throughout the competition, particularly in the gold-medal race.
"Today I was particularly restrained with my reaction at the start in every race," Zhao said. "Especially in the gold-medal race, when I knew I might be very close to the championship, I was even more restrained."
Zhao's winning time of 4.69 seconds was his fastest in an official competition since he set the men's world record of 4.54 in May. He said, however, that he was not yet at his best.
"I still have room to improve. I didn't make many adjustments before this competition, so this may not be my best condition," he said.
Zhao will return to the same venue in 18 days for the World Climbing Series event in Guiyang.
"I will be faster then," he said.
The world record holder also took time after his victory to interact with the crowd, posing for a group photo with spectators and borrowing the host's microphone to encourage them to return for the World Climbing Series event in September.
Zhao said he had previously enjoyed interacting with spectators but had adopted a more serious approach to competition over the past year in an effort to eliminate distractions. In Monday's final, however, he wanted to find a better balance between concentration and relaxation under pressure.
"I've been thinking about a lot of things recently. I think I have been a little too dismissive of the person I was last year," Zhao said.
"I want to stay completely focused, but maybe I have been a little too serious. That can actually make me more vulnerable, because there are too many distractions during a competition and I cannot completely block everything out."
Zhao will miss the upcoming Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya after a disappointing performance at China's national team selection event earlier this year.
He has only two international competitions remaining this season, both World Climbing Series events in China.
Asked what he hoped to achieve in the remaining competitions, Zhao answered: "On the way, to the top." ■
