The Honey Badger & Julian David's Need For Speed
Taking advantage of the unusual winter conditions that preceded this week, Tom Waldin has made the first ascent of a long unclimbed line at Christchurch's Superbowl (AKA The Cave). Honey Badger (34) is a project that dates back to Kaz Pucia's time, but the direct line was considered too hard and the start became Dracula (31) by traversing at one-third height and finishing on Nosferatu (31). After first trying the line in February, Tom took multiple sessions to work out a viable sequence for the crux, which is particularly bouldery. Tom called the climb his hardest to date and tentatively grades it at 34.
Competition Climbing
Meanwhile, at the IFSC Speed World Cup in Kraków, Poland, Julian David broke his own New Zealand and Oceania record while advancing to the finals round. He went out in the Round of 16, finishing in 27th. Ned Johntston was 69th. The eventual winner was USA's Sam Watson.
Kraków marked the debut of the new Speed 4 format at World Cup level—four lanes running simultaneously, a system first used at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu. Plenty of records fell at the event, notably USA's Emma Hunt became the first woman to go under six seconds, setting a new record of 5.99. Neither Hunt nor retiring Speed legend Aleksandra Miroslaw found victory though, with hometown hero Miroslaw eliminated by a devastating false start in the final. Hunt was unable to repeat her perfect run for the record and was beaten by Indonesia's Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi. New Zealand's Sarah Tetzlaff finished 56th.