Seo Chae-hyun
South Korean rock climber (born 2003)
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Seo Chae-hyun (Korean: 서채현, born November 1, 2003), is a South Korean professional rock climber who specializes in competition climbing. She won the overall 2019 World Cup title in competition lead climbing in her senior debut season.[2] In 2021 she won the IFSC World Championship in lead climbing.[3] Seo is a two-time Olympian, having represented South Korea at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.[4]
Seo in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | November 1, 2003 Seoul, South Korea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Known for | Winning the overall World Cup for lead in her debut season | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on April 24, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
Seo was born into a family of climbers. She started climbing in 2008. Her father owns a climbing gym in Seoul.
Climbing career
Rock climbing
In 2018, aged 14, Seo redpointed the 9a (5.14d) graded sport climbing route, Bad Girls Club, at the Wicked Cave, near Rifle, Colorado.[5] On November 22, 2022, aged 19, Seo redpointed the famous 9a+ (5.15a) graded Spanish sport climb, La Rambla, becoming the second-ever woman to redpoint the route.[6][7] During that same trip to Spain, Seo onsighted the 8c (5.14b) graded route, L'Antagonista, in Serra de Montsant, becoming the second-ever female to on-sight a route at that grade.[8]
Competition climbing
In 2019, she made her IFSC Climbing World Cup debut and won the Lead World Cup season title ahead of Slovenia's Janja Garnbret and Japan's Natsuki Tanii by earning four gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal.[9] In November of that year she participated in the 2019 Asian Championships, winning gold in both lead and bouldering disciplines.[10] She qualified for the first appearance of sport climbing at the Summer Olympics via her placement in the combined event at the 2019 IFSC Climbing World Championships.[11]
In August 2021, aged 17, Seo competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics and finished in eighth place overall in the women's combined event.[4] A month later she went on to win the World Championship in lead climbing.[3]
In 2022, Seo finished the 2022 IFSC World Cup season placed second overall in lead, having earned three silver medals and two bronze medals.[12] She also won gold medals in lead and combined along with a bronze medal in bouldering at the 2022 Asian Championships.[13]
In 2023, Seo finished third in lead at the World Championships.[14] She also represented South Korea at the 2022 Asian Games where she received the silver medal in the women's combined competition.[15]
Seo qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics through the Olympic Qualifier Series. In August 2024, she made her second consecutive Olympic Games appearance and finished in sixth place overall in the newly reformatted women's combined event.[4]
Rankings
World Cup
| [4] | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 1 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| Bouldering | – | – | 10 | 10 | 20 | 20 |
| Speed | 80 | – | – | – | – | |
World Championships
| [4] | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Bouldering | 13 | 37 | 45 | 13 |
| Speed | 50 | – | – | – |
| Combined | 13 | – | 10 | – |
Asian Championships
| [4] | 2019 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | 1 | 1 |
| Bouldering | 1 | 3 |
| Speed | 15 | – |
| Combined | 4 | 1 |
