'The Usain Bolt of speed climbing' can scale a wall faster than most people can run
We have all seen people attempt to climb a rock wall and many of us have attempted it ourselves. But none of that prepares you for seeing somebody sprint up a wall like he is Spider-man on steroids.
Danyil Boldyrev of Ukraine is the top-ranked men's speed climber in the world according to the International Federation of Sport Climbing and he recently set the world record, scaling a 15-meter wall in just 5.60 seconds.
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Boldyrev is traveling at 6.0 miles per hour, or the equivalent of a 10-minute mile and climbs the 4.5-story wall in the same amount of time it takes Usain Bolt to run about 60 meters.
Once a niche sport among young climbers, speed climbing is the "fastest growing aspect" of the sport of climbing according to the Climbing Business Journal. As those young climbers age, the sports will become more mainstream, much like snowboarding grew from a fad among radical teens.
Here is the full video of Boldyrev's climb. The reaction by the announcers is pretty great, referring to Boldyrev as "the Usain Bolt of speed climbing."