UIPM 2025 Obstacle World Championships (OCR): Jonaczyk and Beckstrand sprint to 100m glory
Katarzyna Jonaczyk and Luke Beckstrand confirmed their sprint supremacy by becoming the first UIPM Obstacle 100m world champions at the National Olympic Sports Centre, Beijing.
The inaugural UIPM 2025 Obstacle World Championships (OCR) reached a climax on day three as the top 16 female and male qualifiers made their way through four thrilling rounds on the 100m course.
Jonaczyk was unstoppable in the Women’s Finals, progressing serenely through the rounds and fending off stiff competition from Polish team-mate and silver medallist Anna Garlacz in the decider, earning her historic gold medal in 41.04sec.
British challenger Mila Stanzani took full advantage of a slip by 400m world champion Tiana Webberley in the Round of 16 to progress through to the Semi-finals, and she claimed bronze courtesy of having a higher seeding than the other athlete defeated in the last four, German teen Lotta Kokemohr.
They were not the only two male athletes to break the 30sec barrier, but the Beckstrand brothers reigned supreme on the short course, just as they had 24 hours earlier when garnering gold and silver over 400m.
And there was, again, a discernible gap between the two siblings. Luke Beckstrand showed astonishing consistency, timing 28sec, 26sec and 27sec through the rounds before reaching new heights in the Men’s Final where his peak time of 25.60 consigned Kai Beckstrand to silver in 27.34.
Another incredibly agile Ninja, Shneor Sameach, was the other competitor to go under 30sec as two brilliant times of 28sec and 29sec enabled the Israeli to win bronze ahead of 4th-placed British contender Tommy Matthews. Sameach prevailed in the best race of the Final against Iurii Prokudin (AIN), who risked it all on the penultimate obstacle (Big Wheels) and hit the crash mats.
It was an evening of risk and reward, jeopardy and joy as the best OCR sprinters in the world exhibited their elastic strength, speed and skills. There were backflips, dance steps, big biceps and comic-book poses on the start line as they showcased their personalities too. There was an incredible finish to the Under 19 Men’s Final as neutral athlete Prokhor Khanonin denied local hero Renziyi Yu by just 0.1sec.
Two pentathletes made their presence known, too. She would later slip on the Ascension Bars to crash out of the 100m Round of 16, but new Pentathlon world champion Farida Khalil had already won bronze in the morning event, the Women’s Individual 3km, the 14-year-old Egyptian finishing behind American champion Nicole Mericle and silver medallist Zuzana Kocumova, an endurance athlete who competed in the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics for Czechia.
All of the top eight female finishers hailed from different countries, with 12 nations in total represented, while there were even more nationalities on show in the Men’s Individual 3km where Stijn Lagrand took the gold home to the Netherlands, finishing 14sec ahead of South African 400m medallist Brandon Hulley with Italian Loris Pintarelli grabbing the bronze.
Egyptian pentathlete Moustafa Abouamer finished a creditable 14th in the endurance race, before coming up against the unbeatable Luke Beckstrand in the 100m Round of 16 and bowing out in a very respectable 41sec.
Elite champions’ reaction
Women’s gold medallist Katarzyna Jonaczyk said: “I'm really happy and so touched, because I worked really hard. Like everyone here, it’s really difficult to make it and I’m so, so happy and so tired.
“It was really hard, and when I saw that the Final would be against Anna, from Poland, I was so happy. You still have to fight in the last round, but the worst that could happen would be second place, and that was like the cherry on the cake.
“I’m sure that I will remember this event for a very long time. Thank you so much and see you next year.”
Men’s elite gold medallist Luke Beckstrand said: “I'm so happy and so grateful to be able to let all that hard work pay off.
“I'm so happy right now, beating [Kai] in both [Finals]. Obviously, we want each other to do as good as we can, but I just happened to come out on top these two times.
“This event has been amazing in Beijing. Definitely got to come back next year for sure. Super grateful, super happy. Yeah, thanks for having me.”
President's reaction
UIPM President Rob Stull said: "I could not be happier with the success of our first Obstacle World Championships.
"A truly epic effort by everyone involved, from the organisers to the athletes, created a memorable and historic experience in Beijing for our sports community. China has set a high bar that will resonate until the Championships return in 2026 for what promises to be an even bigger and grander event on the UIPM calendar.”
Watch and follow
Following the conclusion of the UIPM 2025 Obstacle World Championships (OCR) with the Team 3km event tomorrow (October 26), the final competition on the 2025 calendar will be the UIPM 2025 Biathle-Triathle and Laser Run World Championships in Mossel Bay (RSA) from December 8-13.
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