The Odessa region has achieved another significant sports victory! 19-year-old climber Grigory Ilchishin from Odessa earned a silver medal at the World Cup stage in the speed climbing discipline held in Wuzhiyang, China.
In the qualifying rounds, Grigory placed 13th, enabling him to face off against the fourth-seeded qualifier, Olympic participant Zach Hammer (USA), in the first playoff round. Thanks to his impressive performance and a time of 5.21 seconds, he advanced to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, Grigory set a new Ukrainian record of 5.01 seconds, surpassing his Chinese opponent.
In the semifinals, the climber defeated the bronze medalist of the 2024 Olympic Games, Samuel Watson (USA), with a time of 5.11 seconds.
In the finals, our athlete only lost to the Chinese representative Qiangguo Long, yet he still delivered a phenomenal result of 4.98 seconds, becoming the first in Ukrainian climbing history to finish in under 5 seconds!
“I am very happy, but I believe I can do even better! I will try to achieve an even faster time in the next stage in Bali (May 2-4),” commented the athlete on his historic success.
Congratulations to Grigory on this incredible achievement, and we wish him further victories on the international stage! Odessa is proud of its athlete!