Kiromal Katibin’s profile, Spiderman from Batang, who is now the world’s number one climber

About Semarang – Indonesia again carved a proud achievement in the world sports arena. Kiromal Katibin, a rock climbing athlete from Batang, Central Java, officially ranked first in the world, outperforming the 2024 Olympic record holder from the United States, Samuel Watson.

According to the official data of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) released August 14, 2025, Kiromal managed to collect 4,255 points, 571 points adrift of Watson who came in second place with 3,684 points. The point was obtained by Kiromal from consistent performance in various world championships since the beginning of the year.

One of the most decisive moments was when Kiromal won a gold medal at the IFSC Climbing World Cup Denver, USA, on June 2, 2025. Although the match was stopped due to the storm, Kiromal was declared a champion based on the fastest time in the qualifying round, which is 4.83 seconds – faster than all its competitors.

The journey from the Batang Square to the top of the world

Kiromal, or familiarly called Kiki, started a rock climbing career since the age of 7 years. He was inspired when he saw the climbing competition in the Batang Square, then began to train seriously in 2009 with his brother. Since then, his talent and hard work continued to produce results.

His track record shows a significant increase:

• 2016-2017: Gold National Championship in Bangka and Padang.
• 2018: Asian Gold Youth Championship, China.
• 2021: Medal in PON XX Papua and IFSC World Cup Villars & Salt Lake City.
• 2022: Gold IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City.
• 2025: IFSC Denver gold carrying Kiromal to the top of the world ranking.

Not only Kiromal, Indonesia also has Veddriq Leonardo and Raharjati Nursamsa in the speed number. Veddriq, Paris 2024 Olympiad champion, is currently ranked 12th in the world with 1,640 points, while Raharjati is ranked 8th in the world with 2,310 points.

The three are scheduled to appear on the World Games 2025 Chengdu, China, on August 7-17. This competition is an important opportunity to maintain or improve positions in the world ranking.

Kiromal Katibin is not only a new idol in Indonesia, but also in the global arena. The nickname “Spiderman Indonesia” is pinned to him thanks to extraordinary speed and impressive technical ability.

With a young age, 24 years, and high dedication, the future of Kiki in the world of rock climbing is still very bright.

His success is not only inspiration for young Indonesian athletes, but also a symbol that big dreams can be started from a simple place from small squares in the trunk to the world’s podium. ***