Zhou Yafei (climber)

Zhou Yafei
Personal information
Native name
周娅菲
Nickname滑板 (skateboard)
Born (2004-05-15) 15 May 2004[1]
Lishui, China
Years active2022–present
Height156 cm (5 ft 1 in)
Climbing career
Competition speed climbing
Sport
CountryChina
ClubZhejiang Provincial Rock Climbing Team
Coached byZhong Qixin
Medal record
Women's competition climbing
Representing  China
World Games
Gold medal – first place2025 ChengduSpeed relay
Bronze medal – third place2025 ChengduSpeed
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2025 SeoulSpeed
World Cup (Overall)
Second place2025Speed
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place2026 MeishanSpeed
Bronze medal – third place2024 Tai'anSpeed
Asian Beach Games
Gold medal – first place2026 SanyaSpeed
Bronze medal – third place2026 SanyaSpeed relay

Zhou Yafei (Chinese: 周娅菲; born 15 May 2004) is a Chinese competition speed climber. She represented China at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Career

Zhou competed at the 2023 IFSC Climbing World Championships and finished in eighth place.[1]

During the first leg of 2024 Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai, Zhou finished in first place with a personal best time of 6.54 seconds.[2] During the second leg of the Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest, she finished in second place, just 0.02 seconds behind Aleksandra Kałucka.[3] As a result, she qualified to represent China at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[4][5] During the first race in the qualification round of the women's speed event, Zhou reached the timer first, however, she failed to press it hard enough to stop the clock on the sensor pad. The next race had a similar issue with the clock on the same pad. The sensor was declared defective, which required a half-hour stop in the competition for repairs.[6][7] She finished the qualification round in fourth place with a personal best time of 6.389 seconds. In the elimination heats, she won her heat against Italy's Beatrice Colli with a time of 6.55. She finished in seventh place after losing in the quarterfinals to eventual bronze medalist Aleksandra Kałucka of Poland.[8]

On 10 April 2026, she competed at the 2026 World Climbing Asia Championship and won a silver medal with a time of 6.47 seconds.[9] Weeks later, she then competed at the 2026 Asian Beach Games and won a gold medal in the speed event with a time of 6.35 seconds. She also won a bronze medal in the speed relay, along with Deng Lijuan.[10] She was subsequently named China's flag bearer for the closing ceremony.[11] In July 2026, she competed at the 2026 World Climbing Series in Kraków, Poland and won a gold medal in the speed relay, along with Deng. After lowering the world record to 13.02 seconds in the semifinals, they improved it once more in the gold medal race, with a world record time 12.89 seconds to secure the inaugural title. They became the first women's team to complete the relay in under 13 seconds.[12]

Major results

IFSC Climbing World Cup

Women's speed

Year Venue Opponent Time (s) Result Ref
2024 Seoul, South Korea Indonesia Rajiah Sallsabillah 6.78–8.08 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold [13]
2025 Bali, Indonesia Poland Aleksandra Miroslaw 8.12-6.37 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver [14]

Olympic Games

Discipline 2024
Speed 7

World championships

Discipline 2023 2025
Speed 8 3

World Cup

Discipline 2023 2024 2025
Speed 16 50 2

Asian championships

Discipline 2022
Speed 10

References

  1. 1 2 "Zhou Yafei". olympics.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. ↑ Smirnova, Lena (18 May 2024). "Veddriq Leonardo and Zhou Yafei take speed climbing titles at OQS Shanghai". olympics.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  3. ↑ Goh, ZK (22 June 2024). "Aleksandra Kalucka and Wu Peng claim speed climbing gold trophies at OQS Budapest". olympics.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  4. ↑ Goh, ZK (22 June 2024). "Olympic Qualifier Series Budapest Day 3 wrap-up: First winners crowned and quota spots obtained". olympics.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  5. ↑ Wong, Samantha (4 August 2024). "Sport climbing preview: New format for Paris Olympics means twice as many medals". nbcolympics.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  6. ↑ "Records Tumble in Fast Start to Paris 2024". ifsc-climbing.org. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  7. ↑ Burgman, John (5 August 2024). "Technical Issues & New World Records in Women's Olympic Speed Climbing". climbing.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  8. ↑ Wong, Samantha (5 August 2024). "Poland's Miroslaw breaks world record, nears 6-second barrier in women's speed qualification". nbcolympics.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  9. ↑ "Kusuma Dewi Shatters Asian Record to Claim Speed Gold". worldclimbing.com. 10 April 2026. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "China sweeps men's, women's speed climbing golds at 6th Asian Beach Games". english.news.cn. 28 April 2026. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "Speed climber Zhou named Team China's flag bearer at Asian Beach Games closing ceremony". english.news.cn. 30 April 2026. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Another World Record Falls in Kraków, As China Sweeps Speed Relay Golds". worldclimbing.com. 5 July 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Sam Watson, Deng Lijuan win Speed Climbing World Cup 2024 season titles as Wang Xinshang, Zhou Yafei clinch victories in Seoul". olympics.com. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "IFSC World Cup Sport Climbing Bali 2025: Sam Watson sets speed world record while Aleksandra Miroslaw takes women's title". olympics.com. 3 May 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
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