The IFSC World Games will take place in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, from Aug. 7–17! A total of 72 athletes from 12 nations, representing all five continents, are set to compete. Historically, The World Games occur every four years, and are designed to highlight sports that aren’t contested at the Olympics. Even though Sport Climbing is now an Olympic sport, Speed still has a place at The World Games.

Unlike previous editions of climbing events at The World Games, the upcoming 12th edition will feature only Speed, as well as a new Speed format from the IFSC. The new format, referred to as Speed Single 4, will allow athletes to compete in four races across four lanes. Similar to a Speed Single round, athletes are ranked based off their fastest time, with the top 8 athletes advancing to Finals. If an athlete is eliminated, they will be placed into an Elimination Heat, where the top 8 athletes will also advance to their own Finals round. A Speed Relay round will also be included after being featured in the last two Asian Games.

In total, athletes will have the opportunity to compete in a Speed Single, Speed Single 4, and Speed Relay round.

The event will take place at Tianfu Park, an urban venue in the Jinniu District. 8 USA athletes will compete at only the third World Games to be hosted in Asia. The last World Games were in Birmingham, Alabama in 2022 featuring all three disciplines. This is the first time only Speed will be featured. Among the USA athletes are Olympians Emma Hunt, Piper Kelly, Zach Hammer and Sam Watson. Only Hunt has competed in The World Games before; for the other US athletes, this will be their first appearance.

How To Watch The World Games

You can watch the Semi-Final and Final rounds of The World Games Chengdu 2025 live (or on-demand at any time after the event) on the IFSC YouTube channel, starting on Thursday, August 14th with the Speed-2 (Speed Single round) at 3:30 a.m. MDT. The Speed-4 Finals will take place a day later on Friday, August 15th at 4:00 a.m. MDT. Finally, the Speed Relay Finals will take place on Saturday, August 16th at 9:40 p.m. MDT.

USA Climbing Athletes Who Are Competing

Men’s Speed Athletes

Zachary Hammer | Chengdu will be Hammer’s first World Games
Michael Hom | Chengdu will be Hom’s first World Games
Logan Schlecht | Chengdu will be Schlecht’s first World Games
Samuel Watson | Chengdu will be Watson’s first World Games

Women’s Speed Athletes

Emma Hunt | Chengdu will be Hunt’s second World Games
Sophia Curcio | Chengdu will be Curcio’s first World Games
Piper Kelly | Chengdu will be Kelly’s first World Games
Isis Rothfork | Chengdu will be Rothfork’s first World Games

Follow @usaclimbing on social media for competition updates and behind-the-scenes action.