Shang Chunsong won the women’s freestyle final at the Beijing Parkour World Cup on Sunday and secured the 2026 overall World Cup title.
A final settled on home ground
Shang arrived at the third and last stop of the series tied for second overall with Japan’s Nene Nagai and the Netherlands’ Noa Man.
Shang had topped qualification by more than six points and carried that dominance into the final on Sunday afternoon at Big Air Shougang. In front of packed stands, she strung difficult tricks across bars and walls.
Nagai took silver on 22.3 points. Isa Smits of the Netherlands claimed bronze with 21.1, edging China’s Zhou Jie, a fellow former gymnast, by just 0.1 points. Once the win was confirmed, Shang’s teammates ran onto the course and lifted her into the air.
A grand slam finds its final piece
Beijing was the first high-level international parkour event in China since the 2019 Chengdu World Cup, drawing more than 100 competitors from over 20 countries. The overall title goes to the athlete with the highest points total, using each competitor’s two best results.
Shang is a 30-year-old former artistic gymnastics captain who won a team bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics. She began gymnastics at age seven in a mountain village in Yongshun county, Hunan province, and took up parkour in 2022. Since then she has built a freestyle grand slam: the 2024 World Championships in Kitakyushu, the 2024 Montpellier World Cup and the 2025 World Games in Chengdu.
“I’m very proud to win this gold at home. The former Olympian hopes parkour will one day join the Olympic programme.
