Seoul: Jeong Ji-min finished in fourth place in the women's speed event at the sport climbing world championships Wednesday, coming up just shy of reaching the podium on home soil. Jeong lost to Zhou Yafei of China by 0.04 second, 6.34 to 6.38, in the bronze medal race at the 19th International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Climbing World Championships at KSPO Dome inside Olympic Park in southeastern Seoul.
According to Yonhap News Agency, after finishing third in the qualification earlier Wednesday, Jeong knocked off Meng Shixue of China in the round of 16 by 6.55 seconds to 6.83 seconds and then defeated another Chinese climber, Qin Yumei, in the quarterfinals by 6.36 seconds to 6.75 seconds. In the semifinals against Deng Lijuan of China, Jeong slipped a couple of times before clocking 8.00 seconds, as the Chinese climber won the race in 6.42 seconds.
In the speed event, the objective is to be the fastest to the top of a 15-meter wall. Jeong was trying to become the first South Korean climber, male or female, to win a speed medal at the world championships. Aleksandra Miroslaw of Poland beat Deng for the gold medal with a world record time of 6.03 seconds. Miroslaw had set the previous world record of 6.06 seconds in winning the 2024 Olympic gold medal. The 31-year-old now has three world titles under her belt.
The world championships will continue with the men's speed qualification and final on Thursday.