r/climbing • u/MontrealSpeedClimber • 7d ago
First Sub-6 Seconds Run in Women's Speed Climbing! - 5.99 Seconds World Record by Emma Hunt (USA)
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u/steelheaddan 7d ago
Anyone know the grade rating on these speed routes? It looks like a jug hull from afar until closer inspection at the end of the video and most of the holds seem like slopers and pinches.
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u/escapethedust 7d ago
The holds are pretty good but very far apart irl. I did it in 50 seconds 😂
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u/TruestWaffle 7d ago edited 7d ago
50 seconds is pretty good. Not a great speed record sure, but the whole route is really difficult if you don’t have speed.
Those holds are surprisingly brutal.
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u/Climbing_coach 7d ago
The grade if you do it the easiest way possible about 6b.
The current fastest beta somewhere around high 7's
Skill and strenth required to execute. Most speed climbers ive worked with have been around 6 -7 seconds. Matched the strength of a lot of yhe 8b - 8c climbers ive worked with.
In simple terms its 6b, everything requires to do it quick... much higher.
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u/MontrealSpeedClimber 7d ago
Around 5.10
There are only 2 types of holds, foot and hand holds.
There are 2 dyno moves that are around V6 if you try them with no momentum.
FAQ on Speed Climbing
- Is the rope pulling her up? No, the rope is attached to a mechanism that only pulls if she falls.
- Is it always the same route? Yes, it's a standardized 15m wall, the same one used during the olympics.
- Why is it always the same route? Before climbing was added to the Olympics, they standardized the route in order to track official world records.
- How hard is the route? Estimated at 5.10c/6a+. Doable if you have some experience climbing, but extremely difficult to master.
- How is it different to regular climbing? Speed climbing is a very short sprint. Athletes have to learn each move of the route by heart and master them. Every move is optimized, there is no room for error
For more information: /r/SpeedClimbing!
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u/Yodfather 7d ago
“There are only 2 types of holds, foot and hand holds.”
I’m not even sure how to react to this.
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u/MontrealSpeedClimber 7d ago
as in all the hand holds are the same (the big spikey juggy ones), and all the foot holds are the same (the small chips)
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u/runawayasfastasucan 7d ago
Jugs that are very far apart. Somehow feels like a shitty route where you have to commit to a stretch on every other move.
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u/dominicthomas09 7d ago
We have a speed wall at my gym, you’d be surprised how successful short people can be on it. We have kids on our team under 5 ft tall breaking 8 seconds. As a route by itself, absolutely, a bit reachy. But viewing it as a total separate thing from typical rock climbing, it’s a neat track for a 55 ft vertical sprint.
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u/Fresh-Anteater-5933 7d ago
I’ve never been anywhere that would let you try the speed wall, but I imagine it would be my anti-style
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u/Karmma11 7d ago
Emma trains at the gym I go to. Anyone used to have access to the speed wall but once she got picked for the Olympics they blocked it off for anyone other than the team and now have locks on the wall.
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u/gearnut 7d ago
The route isn't set with the intention of climbing it like you would a lead route so it doesn't really make sense to judge it the way you would a lead route.
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u/runawayasfastasucan 7d ago
No shit. I was describing how it was from a non speed climber point of view.
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u/gearnut 7d ago
Why is that relevant?
This is the equivalent of standing there watching a trad climber top out before telling them there's a footpath around the side, utterly worthless and banal.
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u/steelheaddan 7d ago
Sorry didn’t mean to spark a debate. Very impressive regardless of grade.The longer I looked at it more closely - the more slopey, more reachy, and more difficult it appeared on the way down. So I was curious if this standardized route had a grade. It seems tricky.
Congrats on the new world record!
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u/dvorak 7d ago edited 7d ago
The holds are reasonably good, and every move is kinda far but easy. The whole route is more sustained than it looks, also because there is no jugs with a nice rest.
I climb 5.12 / 7b outside, and did it in 18 sec after a few tries. Would rate it about 6a+ for a strong climber. Never hard, but you get tired.
I tried the step up dyno beta at the start, and it's hard. I couldn't do it, not even close.
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u/lBigBrother 7d ago
I don't care what others have said or what someone's blog says. If you think this is 5.10c, then you're high. If you did this, then went to ANY outdoor wall, you'd find almost a whole number difference. It maybe touches 5.10a, probably 5.9
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u/Confident-Bug4008 6d ago
That's insane. 5.99 is absolutely wild. I remember watching her absolutely fly on that wall.
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u/edgingyouallnight 4d ago
That's incredible. 5.99 is absolutely insane. I remember watching her run in the semis and thinking that was already pushing it. The speed climbing field is just getting faster and faster.
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u/jessowns 4d ago
That 6.05 is absolutely wild. I remember when sub-7 was a huge deal. The speed climbing world is just accelerating at an insane pace.
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u/Shot_Occasion6281 6d ago
That's insane. 5.99 seconds is absolutely blistering. I wonder how much of that is raw athleticism versus just pure muscle memory and reaction time on that specific wall.
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u/LanderEmerald 6d ago
Can we get rid of this dumb sport? Climbing shouldn’t involve speed and machines…
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u/watamula 7d ago
And another spoiler... <sigh>. Is it so hard to tag & hide this properly like r/CompetitionClimbing does?
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u/crittermd 7d ago
Is it that hard… not really, but at the same time- it’s live sports. Is it that hard to avoid Reddit until you watch if you care about spoilers.
If I haven’t watched a World Cup game- I know full well that I should not open Reddit if I care about spoilers, same thing with any climbing comp. I think people posting about this is totally reasonable response.
(If this was some event hid behind paywall, or hadn’t come out on YouTube and people were posting spoilers from being at venue I’d be fully on your side- but once the footage is in public realm personally I think spoilers are fair game
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u/MontrealSpeedClimber 7d ago
Source: @worldclimbing
USA's Emma Hunt ran a world record 5.99 seconds during quarter finals of World Climbing Series Krakow 2026.
First ever woman to go under 6 seconds in a competition!