UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup:
Safdarian, Beheshtirad secure all-Iranian one-two in men’s speed
Iranian climbers Mohammadreza Safdarian and Mohsen Beheshtirad claimed a gold and silver medal, respectively, in the men’s speed competition at the second UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup event of the 2026 season in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, on Friday.
After clocking the third-best qualification time of 9.93 seconds, Safdarian produced a blistering ascent of 8.60 seconds in the final to add another World Cup gold to the one he won in the season opener in Cheongsong, South Korea, a fortnight ago.
In his previous three visits to the resort in the Swiss Alps, Safdarian had collected a gold, silver and a bronze, with a mesmerizing sub-eight second climb earning him the World Cup title last season.
Beheshtirad, who took bronze in Cheongsong, secured silver this time with a time of 9.06 seconds, despite having recorded the fastest time overall (8.55 seconds) in qualification. Florian Gantner of Liechtenstein finished third in 9.14 seconds.
The Saas-Fee event deployed a solo format – climber against the clock – rather than the usual head-to-head duel, with each finalist given three attempts.
Mojtaba Hashemi was the other Iranian competitor in the men’s speed event but narrowly missed the 16-man final, finishing 17th in qualification with a time of 13.94 seconds.
In the women’s speed contest, Mahin Khalil represented Iran. She posted 28.46 seconds to qualify for the final and ultimately finished 10th with 20.47 seconds.
Mongolia’s Selenge Nyamdoo won the women’s title in 11.29 seconds, followed by Liechtenstein’s Lorena Beck (13.13 seconds) and Czech climber Aneta Louzecka (13.29 seconds).
The three-day competition in Saas-Fee featured 137 athletes from 19 countries across the men’s and women’s speed and lead disciplines.
The third World Cup event of the season will be held in Longmont, Colorado, USA, from February 20-22, followed by the season finale in Edmonton, Canada, from February 26-28.