Abstract
Introduction:
World records in competition speed climbing improved by 17.2% for women and 13.5% for men between 2018 and 2024. This study examined whether biomechanical and technicaldevelopments contributed to these rapid performance improvements.
Methods:
Using retrospective video analysis of six elite international competitions (168 races; 322athletes), custom motion‑tracking software (Beta Tracka) was developed to extract two‑dimensional centre of mass (CoM) trajectories, limb positions and hold contact sequences from broadcast footage. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering identified distinct movementstrategies within four key "variation zones" on the standardised IFSC speed wall, enabling longitudinal comparison of technical evolution and its relationship to performance outcomes.
Results:
Substantial refinement of technique occurred across the six‑year period, with several innovations showing strong associations with improved split times. Adoption of the Tomoa Skip (debuted in 2018) in the starting sequence was linked to slower opening splits, while emerging techniques in the middle wall and final approach produced major time advantages.
Gender‑specific adoption patterns indicated divergent technical pathways, with some innovations diffusing more slowly (or not at all) into the women’s competition.
Conclusions:
These findings provide longitudinal biomechanical evidence that correlates elite speed climbing performance gains from 2018–2024 to evolutions in athletes’ movement strategy. While the newer technique in the lower section was associated with slower climbs, theupper‑wall innovation showed clear positive performance associations.