World Championships in Para-Climbing Come to an End

Forty-eight Para-climbers competed in the first-ever Para-climbing World Championships in Arco di Trento, Italy, last week.

Athletes from Russia, Spain, France, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Belarus, China and Italy took part in the event, as Italy’s own Silvia Parente stole the show.

The visually impaired athlete won the speed Para-climbing competition with a time of 64.33, and she took second in the lead Para-climbing event with a mark of 2.00.

Parente, who won a gold medal at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Games in Alpine Skiing, just started climbing three years ago and has only taken part in serious competition since last November.

On the men’s side, Russia’s Mikhail Saparov, an amputee athlete, won both the speed and lead Para-climbing events as did Italy’s Matteo Stefani, who is visually impaired.