Ice Climbing World Championships:
Iran’s Safdarian wins men’s lead gold; Beheshti-Rad grabs bronze
Iranian men stole the show on the second day of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships, snatching the speed gold and bronze in Edmonton, Canada, on Saturday.
Mohammadreza Safdarian clocked 12.83 seconds to beat Mongolia’s Kherlen Nyamdoo, who finished the final race in 15.03 seconds, and walk away with the ultimate prize.
This was a third major medal in a month for the 32-year-old Iranian, who also came out on top against the Mongolian climber in the UIAA World Cup final in Cheongsong, South Korea, in mid-January before taking a bronze in the event in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, two weeks later.
Meanwhile, Mohsen Beheshti-Rad registered a best qualification time of 14.29 seconds but eventually settled for a third-spot finish, thanks to a victory over Andreas Gantner of Liechtenstein.
Beheshti-Rad also won his international medal of the year, having grabbed the speed silver in Saas-Fee.