SPORT climbing makes its Olympics debut this year and Shenzhen’s Song Yiling is the only athlete from China taking part in the women’s sport climbing Wednesday. She has done her best but dropped out of the final with a shoulder injury, Shenzhen Evening News reported. The contest features three disciplines: speed, bouldering and lead. In the first round of speed climbing, Song, a speed specialist, kicked off excellent; however, she made a small mistake in the end of route, clocking an 8.74 seconds. In the second round, Song climbed more quickly, finishing in the third place with 7.46 seconds. She got one bonus in bouldering with the 19th place. In the following lead, Song fell at the 13th holds and announced her failure, which made her bow out of the top eight. Hong Lian, Song’s coach, said that “Song was under Olympic pressure although she has performed consistently in the training. She worried that she would disappoint her coach if she lost the competition. She played below par in the first run, so she was afraid to use new skills to speed up. Anyway, the competition is an unforgettable experience for her.” Hong said that Song has been plagued by shoulder injuries, which has impacted her performance in the bouldering and lead. She could not try her best in the bouldering in order to save up strength for the lead. Song will soon return to China and will compete in the National Games after quarantine. Hong said: “She should get a good rest after the contest and receive good treatment for her injuries.” (Xia Yuanjie) |