UIPM 2025 Obstacle World Championships (OCR): Day 1 report

The world’s best exponents of Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) got to grips with 400m and 100m courses in Beijing’s Olympic Stadium on the opening day of the inaugural UIPM Obstacle World Championships.

It was Qualification day and the athletes ripped up the one-lap course in the iconic venue before testing themselves over the shorter distance.

In the elite categories, where prize money will be at stake in the Finals, Kai Beckstrand had a prolific day. First the American finished top of the 400m standings with a blistering time of 1min 31.04sec, followed closely by Luke Beckstrand in 1:34.77. South Africa’s Brandon Hulley was 3rd fastest around the course in 1:41.12, with the Chinese challenge led by Yiqi Li (1:43.43).

Kai Beckstrand had kept enough in the tank for an exceptional 100m, hitting the buzzer and stopping the clock at 34.72 – a time that would prove untouchable during the first attempt at the distance (athletes will get a second attempt on Day 2). British challenger Tommy Matthews and Iurii Prokudin (AIN) were the only others to get under 40sec.

Moustafa Abouamer, the men’s world record-holder in Pentathlon Obstacle, ranked 16th overall in the 100m with a time of 51.40. The Egyptian had narrowly missed out on the 400m Final earlier but could take pride from his achievement on the sprint course, pushing the renowned OCR star Dimitri Houles out of the provisional Final places.

Abouamer’s compatriot, Pentathlon world champion Farida Khalil, made a technical error on the 400m course and was eliminated. She then declined the first attempt to race the 100m, intending to follow up on Day 2 with the second attempt.

At the sharp end of proceedings, Tiana Webberley finished narrowly ahead of Katarzyna Jonaczyk in the 400m with a time of 2:07.02, setting up a fascinating Final head-to-head between the OCR specialists from the US and Poland respectively. Lotta Emilia Kokemohr ranked 3rd over the one-lap course, the German stopping the clock at 2:11.53.

Jonaczyk went one better in the 100m later, the Polish phenomenon completing the course in 48.90 to set the standard. Mila Stanzani wasn’t far off, the British rival also edging under 50min, while another Pole, Anna Garlacz, achieved the 3rd best time.

Athletes from Canada, Philippines, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Guam also featured in the top 16 across the two distances for female and male elites.

Click here for more information about the UIPM 2025 Obstacle World Championships (OCR).