Climber Emma Hunt Wins Silver In Her First World Cup Competition Of 2022

Emma Hunt competes during the women's bouldering competition at the IFSC Climbing World Cup on May 6, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea.

Only a couple weeks away from the anniversary of her first world cup podium, Emma Hunt won the silver medal in speed Friday at the climbing world cup in Seoul, South Korea. 
Hunt, 19, finished her final run in 7.23 seconds, edging out Aleksandra Kalucka of Poland, who won the bronze with a final time of 7.24. Two-time speed world champion Aleksandra Miroslaw of Poland took home gold with a time of 6.72, which came after she broke the world record during the qualification round with a time of 6.64.
This is the fourth senior international podium for Hunt, who’s currently a student at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. In the corresponding men’s speed event in Seoul, no Americans advanced to the final.
Hunt’s first world cup podium came on May 31 of last year in Salt Lake City. The result was identical to Seoul, as she finished second to Miroslaw. Hunt went on to win the first speed event of her senior career at the Pan American Championships in Ibarra, Ecuador, last December. She added a bronze in bouldering there as well.
This kind of success for Hunt early in her career shouldn’t come as a surprise. She won a bronze in speed at the youth world championships in Moscow in 2018, her first-ever IFSC event. A year later, she won gold at the same event in Arco, Italy.
Hunt set the American speed climbing record for 15 meters last July at a world cup in Villar, Switzerland, posting a time of 7.19.
The Seoul world cup continues with a men’s and women’s bouldering competition that wraps up Sunday. After that the tour moves to the U.S. for back-to-back events in Salt Lake City later this month.