New Canadian Men’s Speed Climbing Record in Korea

Robert Stewart-Patterson has set a new Canadian Men’s Speed Climbing record at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup event in Mokpo, Korea

Stewart-Patterson, who finished in eighth place at the event, actually broke the Canadian record twice at the event, finishing with a time of 6.74 seconds in his qualifying run and then breaking that with a time of 6.67 seconds in the quarter-finals.  The previous record, also held by Stewart-Patterson, was 6.80 seconds which he set in July 2014 at a World Cup event in France.  Stewart-Patterson’s training partner, Czech athlete Libor Hroza, who trains at the Boulders, won a silver medal in Speed in Korea. Hroza is a member of Climbing Escalade Canada, and is a former world record holder for men’s speed climbing.

Results from Korea

Stewart-Patterson’s eighth place finish, the best ever by a Canadian in a Word Cup Speed event,  was part of Team Canada’s best ever performance at an IFSC World Cup event.  Fellow Boulders teammate Elan Jonas-McRae finished in 14th place in the Lead category, also his best ever finish on the world stage, while fellow Canadian and the ranking Men’s Overall World Champion Sean McColl, finished 5th in Lead.

“The World Cup event in Mokpo was in some respects a great breakthrough event for our Climbing Escalade Canada team,” said Jarzebiak.  “Our veteran climbers (Sean and Libor) climbed well and our two younger athletes (Robert and Elan) have shown they truly belong on the world stage.  We had a lot of congratulations from officials, athletes and coaches for our approach to long-term athlete development, which was very rewarding to hear.”

All four climbers will now prepare for the IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup event this coming weekend in Wujiang, China, while McColl and Jonas-McRae are also scheduled to compete the following weekend at the World Cup Lead event in Inzai, Japan, as well as onNovember 15-16, 2014 at the World Cup Lead event in Kranj, Solvenia.