Indonesians delight at first speed climbing Olympic gold

JAKARTA: Indonesians celebrated their country's first Olympic gold medal in a sport other than badminton, won by Veddriq Leonardo in the inaugural men's speed climbing event in Paris on Thursday (Aug 8).

Veddriq climbed to a personal best time of 4.75 to beat Chinese rival Wu Peng by just two-hundredths of a second on the 15m wall.

The 27-year-old former world record holder secured the ninth Olympic gold medal in Indonesia's history, the other eight all being won in badminton, much to the delight of fans and his family.

"Words can hardly express how we feel. Praise be to God," his mother Rosita Hamzah told broadcaster Kompas TV.

She said Veddriq called her on Wednesday night to ask her to pray for him before she watched his climb from home in Indonesia with other relatives.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo was among the first to congratulate Veddriq.

"The Paris 2024 Olympics has brought new pride to Indonesia, thanks to Veddriq Leonardo, our proud speed climbing athlete, who secured Indonesia's first gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics," Widodo wrote on the social media platform X.

It was the inaugural individual men's medal for the separate event of speed climbing, after it had been integrated into a combination of speed, bouldering and lead at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"I am proud, very proud. The excitement was explosive," Kristoforus Bagaskoro, a 41-year-old creative manager in the capital Jakarta, told AFP.

"We should hype up this sport more and help it develop even more."

The Southeast Asian archipelago has become an unlikely force in speed climbing, smashing records and nabbing multiple medals at top international events.

Veddriq has led that charge, his father saying his son's enthusiasm for the exciting sport began after