From September 11 to 13, the rock climbing World Cup stage in the “speed” discipline took place in the Chinese city of Guiyang, bringing together competitors from 24 countries.
Representing the Donetsk region as member of the Ukrainian national team was 18-year-old Polina Khalkevych, an athlete of the region’s School of higher sportsmanship.
In the women’s qualifying round, where 44 athletes competed for medals, Polina posted the fifth-fastest time – 6.4 seconds – and confidently advanced to the next round.
In the playoffs, the Ukrainian climber defeated three opponents: Mengli Zhang of China, Capucine Viglion of France, and Jimin Jeong of South Korea. In these heats, Polina recorded times of 6.60, 6.51, and 6.47 seconds, respectively.
In the final, Khalkevych faced Olympic silver medalist Lijuan Deng of China. In the decisive heat, the Ukrainian athlete posted her best time of the competition – 6.37 seconds – but her opponent finished faster with a time of 6.14 seconds.
It should be noted that in the mixed relay competition, Polina Khalkevych and Yaroslav Tkach finished in eighth place.
The silver medal in China marked Polina Khalkevych’s second award at World Cup events. The Ukrainian athlete first stepped onto the podium in the senior series in May 2026 in Alcobendas, Spain, where she also won “silver.” Also this year, Polina won a silver medal at the U19 World Championships and a gold medal at the European Championships in the U19 age group.
Polina Khalkevych is coached by Yaroslav Tkach and Ihor Tyapkin.