Denver– Indonesian climbing athlete Kiromal Katibin once again made his mark by winning a gold medal at the prestigious IFSC Climbing World Cup Denver 2025 in the United States on Sunday afternoon (June 1st), local Colorado time.

Competing in the men’s speed category, Kiromal was declared the winner after recording the best time of 4.83 seconds during the qualification round held one day prior—before the competition was halted due to weather conditions.

Before the event was stopped, Katibin had managed to compete in the round of 16, defeating an Italian athlete with a time of 4.87 seconds. Shortly after that, rain began to fall, and the competition was called off.

The IFSC organizers announced that storms and heavy rain in Denver forced the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals to be canceled for athlete safety. Based on emergency regulations, the last results from the qualification round were used as the basis for final rankings—and Kiromal’s impressive time secured him the top spot on the podium.

Previously, the athlete from Batang, Central Java, showed dominant form in the qualification rounds, clocking 4.83 seconds on Lane A and 4.91 seconds on Lane B. His consistency throughout all phases proved that he deserved to be among the world’s fastest climbers.

This victory adds to Kiromal’s stellar performance, following two bronze medals he earned in the Wujiang and Bali series last May. With this achievement, Kiromal further cements his status as one of the world’s elite speed climbers and strengthens Indonesia’s name on the international climbing stage.

Ical Umarella, Manager of Indonesia’s National Climbing Team, expressed his pride in the achievement.

“Consistency and focus were the keys to Kiromal’s win today. Even though the finals were canceled due to the weather, he had already shown his best performance when it mattered most. This is the result of hard training and outstanding teamwork,” said Ical in Denver.

Yenny Wahid, Chairperson of the Indonesian Rock Climbing Federation (FPTI), also conveyed her appreciation:
“This achievement proves that our nation’s youth can compete and become champions on the world stage. This is not just Kiromal’s victory, but a victory for the entire Indonesian people,” said Yenny.

In addition to Kiromal, Indonesia was also represented by Alfian M. Fajri, who had to stop at the qualification stage. Alfian recorded his best times of 5.30 seconds (Lane A) and 5.49 seconds (Lane B). Although he didn’t advance to the next rounds, full support continued to flow for Alfian from the entire team.

FPTI reaffirmed its commitment to continue nurturing young athletes and expanding Indonesia’s dominance in the global climbing arena, especially in preparation for the 2028 Olympics.