Washington - A pair of climbers from Lafayette, California, in the United States and Hidaka in Japan have climbed the 3,000-foot vertical face of El Capitan peak in record time, beating a record set by German mountaineers, US media reports said Thursday. 

Hans Florine, 44, and his partner Yuji Hirayama, 39, climbed the straight-up Nose route of the famous mountain peak in Yosemite National Park in two hours and 43 minutes, shattering a record set by two German brothers last year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. 

Climbing the iconic peak has become one of the sport's most competitive challenges. Last October the German brothers Thomas and Alexander Huber managed to race up the cliff in two hours and 45 minutes, beating Florine's previous record by three minutes. 

In an attempt last Sunday, Florine and Hirayama failed to beat the Germans' record, missing by just 2 and 1/2 minutes. 

The first successful ascent of El Capitan's nearly flat vertical Nose route was completed in 1958. (dpa)