Zhou Yafei (middle) celebrates her victory in the women's speed climbing competition of the Olympic Qualifying event in Shanghai. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]

Zhou Yafei from Lishui, Zhejiang province, clinched second place in the women's speed climbing event with an impressive time of 6.52 seconds on June 23 in the Olympic Qualifier Series held in Budapest, Hungary.

With her championship at a previous event in Shanghai, Zhou left the qualifier ranked first overall with a total score of 95, securing her qualification for the Paris Olympics.

Born in Songyang county, Zhou began her journey with climbing in her middle school years. Joining the Zhejiang sport climbing team in 2018, she has been continuously honing her skills and striving for breakthroughs in competitions.

Zhou was selected for the national climbing training team for the Paris Olympics with her second-place finish in the women's speed event at the 29th National Climbing Championships in March 2023.

At the 2023 China Climbing League in Shaoxing city in November 2023, Zhou took the championship in women's speed climbing. She later placed second in the women's speed climbing finals at the 30th National Climbing Championships in December.

Editor: Cheng Dengyu