Global parkour athletes compete in Tianmenshan

Over the past weekend more than 70 parkour athletes from around the world including China, Argentina, Netherlands, Japan, the U.S, Italy, Poland and Ukraine gathered at the Tianmenshan Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie, China's Hunan Province, to tackle one of the most challenging parkour courses globally.

The competitors faced a grueling task: descending a nearly 300-meter-long slope with a 150-meter vertical drop, starting from the top of the 999-step staircase that leads to the iconic Tianmen Cave. The route was lined with over 100 obstacles, demanding not only speed but also exceptional balance and agility. The athlete who completes the course in the shortest time is declared the winner. Chinese athlete Li Yiqi reached the finishing point in the fastest time of 1 minute and 36 seconds. Fellow Chinese athlete Li Jintao was second, 0.2 of a second behind, and Yang Xiaoqiang, another Chinese athlete was third, in 1 minute 38 seconds. Liziano Ostiana from the Netherlands who competed in the speed descending race found it was really fun to run this long drop course.

In addition to the descending race, a separate event evaluated the athletes' parkour skills. Contestants performed routines that included kong vaults, laches, palm spins, side flips, and wall runs, with their performances scored by a panel of judges.

Argentine athlete Lautaro Chialvo won the skills competition, followed by Chinese athlete Yang Xiaoqiang and Japanese athlete Sei Asakura.

This is the third edition of the competition held at Tianmenshan Scenic Area. The unique and rugged terrain adds to the challenge and excitement of the event. The American parkour athlete Luke Mizel, who participated in the international parkour competition for the sixth time, told CGTN that this is without a doubt the best one he has ever been to, the beauty of the mountain, the energy and how kind everybody was made the whole experience a lot of fun. It is super cool to experience the Chinese culture and to meet a bunch of kind people.

(All photos taken by CGTN's Chen Bo)