Tech Controversy Delayed Olympic Climbing
A tech failure led to some upset climbers and the start of a record-breaking event
Speed climbing has started at the Olympics with women’s semis taking place on Monday. Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw achieved a women’s speed climbing world record time of 6.06 seconds, read more about it here.
The speed climbing round was delayed after a technical issue caused a bit of a controversy. Kelly Piper and Zhou Yafei were first up, with Yafei having touched the timer pad first. However, for some reason it didn’t register and American Piper claimed victory.
It happened again in the next race, which led to frustration among some climbers. Officials then delayed the event to send someone up the 15-metre wall to check on the equipment. The event was paused for around 30 minutes, during which time the audience cheered for the tech support who was fixing the timer.
Both Yafei and Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi were allowed to retake their climbs solo, with Yafei clocking 6.54 seconds (an Olympic record), and Made Rita then besting it in 6.52 seconds. The record was broken several times during the race before Miroslaw’s time. You can watch a replay of the timer failing at 3:06:32 here. Find out how to stream The Games here.
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