Sports Bulletin

SPORTS BULLETIN Jakarta (Indonesia):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Jakarta 2022 wrapped up the Speed 2022 season, as in the men’s event, 30-year-old Aspar Aspar secured the second World Cup gold medal of his career, four years after placing first in Wujiang, China, in October 2018, prevailing over his teammate Kiromal Katibin, and marking an impressive series of consistently fast times: 5.39 in the first round, 5.27 in the second, 5.31 in the semi-final, and 5.39 again in the gold medal race.  After taking a wild card in the opening round, Katibin won the closest race of the final against teammate, friend, and four-time World Cup gold medallist Veddriq Leonardo – 5.14 for Katibin, 5.15 for Leonardo. The world record holder, however, slipped in both of the following races, winning the semi-final thanks to a slip by Cao Long, and stopping the clock at 5.75 in his race against Aspar.  Cao completed the podium in third place, besting fellow compatriot Long Jinbao and pocketing his first World Cup medal ever.  Despite missing out on a medal on home turf, Leonardo claimed the IFSC Speed World Cup 2022 title with 4,455 points. Katibin placed second with 4,080, and Long took third place with 3,105.  Deng Lijuan of China ruled the women’s Speed final with an impressive crescendo of times: 7.05 in the first round, followed by 6.91, 6.69, and sealed with a fantastic 6.66 in the race for the gold medal against Poland’s Natalia Kalucka.  The bronze medal went to Aleksandra Kalucka, who took advantage of Di Niu’s fall in the bronze medal race and closed with 6.81 seconds.  On the podium of the women’s Speed World Cup 2022, Aleksandra Kalucka took first place with 4,680 points, followed by Emma Hunt of the USA, fifth in Jakarta and second in the yearly race with 3,950 points. Aleksandra twin sister, Natalia, finished in third position with 3,820 points.  MEDAL TABLE  China: 5 golds, 3 silvers, 2 bronzes; Indonesia: 4 golds, two silvers, six bronzes; Poland: 4 golds, 4 silvers, 4 bronzes; USA: 1 gold, 3 silvers, 1 bronze; Spain: 1 silver, 1 bronze; Austria: 1 silver.

SPORTS BULLETIN Jakarta (Indonesia):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Lead and Speed World Cup 2022 season will come to a close in Jakarta, Indonesia, this weekend, with the final medals up for grabs across the two disciplines.  Over 180 athletes from all around the world will descend on the Southeast Asian Island to try and secure not only a podium spot, but an IFSC World Cup Series 2022 trophy in either Lead or Speed. Kiromal Katibin is the current world record holder with five seconds flat, and maybe a home crowd will be enough to push the Indonesian climber under that magic 5-second barrier. Although Katibin has been fast, Speed medals have been in short supply as those quick times have come from qualification rounds. One thing is for sure though: the full Speed event is a must see right from the start! Another home nation athlete to look out for in the men’s event is Veddriq Leonardo who is looking for a hat-trick of titles after wins in Seoul, South Korea, and Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, earlier in the year. Veddriq also has gold from The World Games Birmingham 2022 in his list of achievements from this season. Both Katibin and Leonardo are in with a chance at winning the Speed World Cup 2022 title. On the women’s side of the competition, Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi has two bronze medals to her name in 2022, and like her compatriot Katibin, will be hoping a little home support will give her an edge to gain a few steps up the podium. It will be tough for the home nation athlete though, as Poland yet again bring a strong women’s Speed team headlined by the Kalucka sisters – Aleksandra and Natalia – who faced off in the gold medal race at the last World Cup event, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain. Aleksandra has the safety net of knowing the 2022 Speed title is sewn up with Natalia almost certainly earning herself a place on the Trophy podium. USA’s Emma Hunt splits the pair on the season standings in second helped by her bronze in Edinburgh behind the Kalucka sisters. Another American having a recent surge in Speed is young gun Samuel Watson who not only reached his first final in Edinburgh, but won it for the country’s first ever Speed gold. That came off the back of a Youth World Championships podium in Dallas, Texas, USA, with Watson keen to be taking advantage of the medal winning run in Jakarta. Watson is part of a well-rounded USA team which includes Hunt in Speed, Natalia Grossman in women’s Lead, and Colin Duffy and Jesse Grupper who are in a rich vein of form in men’s Lead. Duffy made history in Innsbruck, Austria, securing gold in both Boulder and Lead at the same event, while teammate Grupper won gold in Briançon, France, and Edinburgh last time out. Both of the Americans are high in the Lead season standings which Japan’s Homma Taisei tops, just ahead of Slovenia’s Luka Potocar. In early September, the Koper World Cup event was headlined by Mori Ai of Japan returning to competition to stop Slovenian Janja Garnbret’s unbeaten streak in Lead for 2022. Mori again beat Garnbret in Edinburgh, but with the Japanese climber not competing the Olympic champion has to be seen as a favourite for gold. Mori will be hoping one of her Japanese teammates can pick up the baton for a medal push, a climber such as Tanii Natsuki who was just off the podium in Edinburgh where she finished fourth and who took a silver in Dallas, last August.

SPORTS BULLETIN Torino (Italy):-The International Federation of Sports Climbing (IFSC) has announced the events calendar of next year 2023, as only two World Cups left on the 2022 calendar, which are scheduled between September and October in Jakarta, Indonesia; and Morioka-Iwate, Japan. Featuring 12 IFSC World Cup events, two World Championships, and a series of continental Olympic qualifiers, the 2023 IFSC season promises to be one of the most exciting and action-packed in the history of Climbing. Taking place in Bern, Switzerland, from 1 to 12 August, the 18th edition of the IFSC Climbing and Paraclimbing World Championships is the most anticipated event of the season, offering the first set of Olympic quotas for Paris 2024 – three in the Boulder & Lead event, two in the Speed one. Schedule (IFSC World Cup Series 2023): 21-23 April: IFSC Boulder World Cup in Hachioji, Japan; 28-30 April: IFSC Boulder and Speed World Cup in Seoul, South Korea; 6-7 May: IFSC Speed World Cup in Indonesia; 19-21 May: IFSC Boulder and Speed World Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; 2-4 June: IFSC Boulder World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic; 9-11 June: IFSC Boulder World Cup in Brixen, Italy; 14-18 June: IFSC Boulder and Lead World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria; 30 June-2 July: IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Villars, Switzerland; 7-9 July: IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Chamonix, France; 14-15 July: IFSC Lead World Cup in Briançon, France; 1-2 September: IFSC Lead World Cup in Koper, Slovenia; and 22-24 September: IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Wujiang, China. Along with the second World Cup event of the season, South Korea will also organise the IFSC Youth World Championships for the first time, welcoming hundreds of young and talented climbers from 19 to 27 August. Picking up from its fifth appearance at The World Games, and a very successful debut at the multi-sport European Championships, Sport Climbing will also be featured at the European Games Kraków-Malopolska 2023, and the 19th edition of the Asian Games, rescheduled to take place from 23 September to 8 October, and confirmed in Hangzhou, China. Finally, history will be made with the sport making its first appearance at the Pan American Games, in Santiago, Chile, from 20 October to 5 November. Santiago 2023 will also serve as the Pan American qualification event to Paris 2024. Five more continental Olympic qualification events will take place in the final third of the season: Olympic Qualification Events: 9-10 September: IFSC Speed European Olympic Qualifier in Italy; 27-29 October: IFSC Boulder & Lead European Olympic Qualifier in Laval, France; 3-7 November: IFSC Asian Olympic Qualifier, location TBD; 23-26 November: IFSC Oceanian Olympic Qualifier, location TBD; and 14-17 December: IFSC African Olympic Qualifier, location TBD. Finally, the 2023 IFSC calendar will include three IFSC Paraclimbing World Cups in the USA, Innsbruck, Austria and Villars, Switzerland.

SPORTS BULLETIN Edinburgh (Scotland):-Japan’s Ai Mori and USA’s Jesse Grupper both signed off the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series event in Edinburgh, Scotland, with seconds to spare for their second gold medals of the 2022 Lead series. In what seemed like perfect symmetry between the men’s and women’s finals, the EICA:Ratho crowd not only had last gasp excitement to cheer, but they also had a home medal to savour as Toby Roberts made his first World Cup podium. Coming back from a three-year hiatus to focus on study, Japan’s Mori Ai returned to action with a gold medal in Kopar, Slovenia just a few weeks ago. In Edinburgh, Mori proved it wasn’t just going to be a one hit wonder. Mori had been climbing faultlessly all competition topping all four of the routes from qualification, semis and the final – but only just. With Olympic champion and rival Janja Garnbret of Slovenia topping the finals route, Mori knew she had to equal that effort to take the gold, but with the knowledge she had the better semifinal performance under her belt to give her the edge if she did. Making her way up the wall to hold 42, Chaehyun found a little resting place with over a minute left on the clock. By the time she felt she had had enough rest, her time was up. Reaching for the next hold was enough for a bronze however. The men’s final offered much for the crowd to cheer. Just like Mori, Jesse Grupper clipped in at the top of the route with close to zero on the clock. And, also like Mori, it was the American’s second Lead gold of 2022. With Grupper at a ‘low point’ in Koper at the last World Cup, Luka Potocar was definitely on a high taking his first World Cup gold medal in front of his home crowd. The Slovenian backed up that effort with a silver medal in Edinburgh reaching 31+. One of the biggest cheers of the night was during the men’s podium ceremony. And that cheer was for Great Britain’s Toby Roberts. Only a few weeks back he had been in Dallas, USA, picking up two Youth Worlds silver medals. In front of a home crowd, he fought his way to a first senior World Cup medal taking bronze and inspiring that British podium roar. A fitting finale for what has been a great three days of competition in the Scottish capital. The 2022 IFSC World Cup Series moves to Jakarta, Indonesia next from 24 - 26 September 2022 for more Lead and Speed action.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Edinburgh (Scotland):-The crowd at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series event in Edinburgh, Scotland, witnessed a little bit of history being made as USA’s Samuel Watson won his country’s first ever Speed gold medal. There was also a first ever finals family race for the Polish Kalucka twins for the onlooking EICA:Ratho spectators to get excited about in an action packed night of Speed racing in the Scottish capital. Just a few weeks ago 16-year-old Samuel Watson was breaking national records at the Youth Worlds in his native USA, today he was picking up the first ever Speed World Cup gold for his country. Throughout the finals series Watson seemed to be wiser than his years, focusing and keeping his cool while others around him seemed to be faltering. Watson came through the first-round with a steady win. He then went through quarterfinals courtesy of a false start. Then through semis as his rival fell. But it was no fluke or lucky streak, and he proved it in the final. Up against China’s Long Jinbao, who on paper was the favourite with experience, medals and quicker times on his side, Watson won what seemed like a nervy final with both climbers stuttering at stages in a time of 5.97 compared to Jinbao’s 6.93. The Chinese climber had to settle for silver. Both Erik Noya Cardano of Spain and Gian Luca Zodda of Italy fell in their respective semifinals matches to set up the small final. This time it wasn’t a fall but a false start which was the decider as the Italian went too early handing the Spaniard a World Cup bronze medal. For sister and silver medallist Natalia it is one step at a time in World Cup competitions, first get to the final race and be in with a shot to win – something that she achieved in Edinburgh: “This was my World Cup final and I’m very proud. It is hard racing against your sister, but I am proud and happy for the both of us.” Third place and the bronze medal went to USA’s Emma Hunt. The American had a strong competition all-round posting a personal best in qualification with 7.02 seconds. She went even better in the quarterfinal with 6.88, and better still in the semifinals with 6.84 – missing out on a final place by just 0.01 to eventual winner Aleksandra Kalucka. Not quite as quick, but a 7.28 in the small final was enough to secure bronze against Italy’s Guilia Randi who tapped at 7.63. Earlier in the day the Lead competition got underway with both men’s and women’s qualification that involved a fascinating six-way tie at the top of the female category. At the previous IFSC World Cup event in Kopar, Slovenia, Japan’s Ai Mori spoiled the party when she beat the home favourite Janja Garnbret to gold. By beating Garnbret, Mori broke the total dominance of the Olympic champion who up until that point had won all four of the 2022 season Lead golds on offer. The two climbers are joined by Italy’s Laura Rogora, USA’s Natalia Grossman, Korea’s Seo Chaehyun and another Japanese climber in Tanii Natsuki at the top of the qualification rankings with all six climbers impressively reaching the top of both routes. In comparison to the women, the make-up of the top six in the men’s qualification isn’t so diverse in nationalities. The Japanese team are again showing their strength in depth with three climbers, USA have two, and Olympic medallist Alberto Ginés López from Spain is the one adding the touch of variety. Again, in stark comparison to the women, there were only four tops in total throughout the 50 climbers. Japan’s Homma Taisei and Satone Yoshida, and USA’s Jesse Grupper and Colin Duffy all cemented top six places with tops. Yurikusa Ao of Japan didn’t manage to reach those heights but still performed well across both routes to qualify in second overall.

Sports Bulletin Report Koper (Slovenia):-The first-ever International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup in Koper, Slovenia, concluded tonight at Plus Climbing Koper, in front of thousands of loud and passionate fans. The show opened in the best possible way, as 20-year-old Slovenian climber Luka Potocar secured the first World Cup gold medal of his career on his home turf. Climbing third-to-last, Potocar concluded with the score of 30+, a few moves away from the top. Also with 30+ was Sascha Lehmann of Switzerland, who then took second position because of his lower placement in the semi-final round. Completing the podium in third place, Yannick Flohé of Germany added a bronze to the men’s Boulder gold he won in Brixen, Italy, earlier this year. Just outside of the podium, Yurikusa Ao of Japan finished fourth, followed by Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Alberto Ginés López of Spain, fifth, and three more Japanese athletes: Homma Taisei, Ogata Yoshiyuki, and Yoshida Satone, respectively in sixth, seventh and eighth position. The 18-year-old from Ibaraki, Japan, came back after a three-year hiatus, which she used to focus on her university studies, climbing atop the World Cup podium in her first IFSC event participation since the IFSC Combined Qualifier in Toulose, France, in December 2019. Mori finished with the score of 30+, while Garnbret concluded with 27+. Pocketing her sixth World Cup medal of the season, Brooke Raboutou of the USA placed third and won bronze with 23+. Fellow Olympians Seo Chaehyun of South Korea, Jessica Pilz of Austria, and Mia Krampl of Slovenia placed at the feet of the podium in fourth, fifth, and sixth place. Natalia Grossman of the USA concluded seventh, while Hélène Janicot of France placed eighth in her first final round participation of the 2022 season. The next stage of the IFSC World Cup Series 2022 will take place in Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain, from 9 to 11 September.  

Sports Bulletin Report Munich (Germany):-As the rain began to fall on Munich’s Königsplatz, it did nothing to dampen the celebrations from Austria’s Jakob Schubert who claimed the final gold medal of the European Championships Sport Climbing competition. Crowds and climbers alike have enjoyed a spectacular stadium bathed in sunshine all week, but as the final climbers took to the wall in the men’s Boulder & Lead final the rain began to fall on the vocal sell-out crowd. A few raindrops could do nothing to stop the crowds cheering on their heroes though in a final battle for medals which went down to the wire. Earlier in the Championships Adam Ondra of the Czech Republic had secured himself a Lead gold and Boulder bronze, and finishing the Boulder section of the B&L final in the lead - topping three problems – things were looking good for a third medal. Hot on his heels was France’s Sam Avezou, who himself had a Munich 2022 silver medal under his belt from Boulder, and Olympic bronze medallist Jakob Schubert of Austria. Along with Mejdi Schalck of France, the top four had all topped three problems and were within 0.2 points of each other. Spain’s Olympic champion Alberto Ginés López was back in fifth topping two problems, 19 points behind leader Ondra. As the B&L Lead section got into full swing, the French athletes failed to make an impact whereas Ginés Lópezshowed why he was Olympic champion. He got to hold 48 for a 90 score and moved into the medal positions. It was down to Ondra and Schubert now. The Austrian fell just short as he reached for the top hold for a score of 95.1, 175.6 overall, and a gold medal position – for now. All he could do was watch on to see what rival Ondra could do. “I wasn’t so nervous watching Adam [Ondra] as when I fell, I knew I had silver,” said Schubert. “I was like 99% sure I would have a silver and 100% sure Adam would get really close to me. It came as a bit of a surprise that he didn’t climb the top as well as me and fell before me. It doesn’t happen often.” The Czech climber fell as he reached for what would be the gold medal hold scoring 90.1, 170.8 overall, and the silver medal. Schubert’s face lit up as he hugged his competitors – one of which was Ginés López who had slipped down to the bronze medal position. “It definitely feels amazing,” said Schubert. “Not because it’s a medal, but because it’s a gold medal. This whole event has been amazing and so has the crowd. Every round has felt like a final. I was missing a medal though. I was a bit sad with my fourth place in Lead and now I’m happy to have this memory of a medal because it’s what this event deserves.” On winning his third medal of the European Championships and completing the gold, silver and bronze set, Ondra said: “I enjoyed today because I knew that no matter what I did after the individual disciplines, no matter what I do in the B&L finals, it would be a successful competition.

Sports Bulletin Report Munich (Germany):-Janja Garnbret came into Munich 2022 having never won European Championships gold. After tonight’s women’s Boulder & Lead competition, she will return home to Slovenia literally weighted down with the precious metal. Garnbret swept all three women’s competitions over the past week, first taking the individual Lead title, followed by the individual Boulder, and finally the Boulder & Lead (B&L) crown this evening, the first ever champion in the new format that will feature at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in two years’ time. The queen of Climbing scored an almost perfect 199.9 in the B&L final, the only blemish coming at problem four of the Boulder competition. Garnbret slipped off the wall attempting a transition, crashing down hard on her lower back. She appeared to be in some discomfort immediately after the fall, but the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion dusted herself off and promptly topped the problem on her next attempt. She never looked back. In the Lead final she was one of only three athletes to collect a full 100.0 points, along with silver medallist Mia Krampl of Slovenia and bronze medallist Jessica Pilz of Austria. “Being three-times European champion sounds good, but it feels even better,” Garnbret said, adding that she may be in need of a new trophy cabinet after her time in Munich.  “One shelf broke not long ago. The things on it were too heavy,” she said. “If it’s too small I will buy a bigger one, but when I look at my cabinet and medals I’m like ‘Whoa, when did this happen?’ because time flies as I’m competing so much and sometimes you have to stop and realise what you have achieved because it is incredible.”  Having gone three for three in Munich, it will likely come as no surprise to learn that Garnbret has a soft spot for the Bavarian capital.  Slovenian teammate Krampl, meanwhile, made up for the disappointment of finishing just out of the medals in the individual Lead, where she placed fourth. Krampl entered today’s competition ranked seventh and will be pleased with her confident performance, which resulted in a score of 180.9.  “Before this competition, I was focusing more on Lead, so for the B&L competition I had no expectations,” Krampl said of the new Olympic format. “It was more like checking what the new format looked like and I said to myself I want to go climb and enjoy myself, and that is why I got a medal.” With the temperature hitting 32 degrees on the Königsplatz and the crowd being hosed down from the front of the stage, expectations were also rising for a second medal of the week for Germany’s Hannah Meul, who won silver in the individual Boulder event. The 21-year-old headed into today’s Lead final tied for second after a brilliant run of three tops in the Boulder competition. But the 80.9 points she collected were not enough to propel her onto the podium after she only managed to reach hold 43 on the Lead wall. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise terrific week for Meul, who nevertheless said she will use her performances here in Munich as inspiration for better results to come. “I can’t be angry but I’m disappointed,” Meul said of today’s result. “I had high expectations for a second medal. If you win one medal you are excited and want more and more, but it was so close. “I really showed how strong I am on Boulder and really gave my best, but in Lead it was so close. I know I will get better and will use this as a motivating factor for the next competition.” BOULDER & LEAD (B&L) The new format to be used at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 made its official competitive. Unlike the Combined format that featured at Sport Climbing’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 last summer, Paris 2024 will see medals awarded to Speed athletes separately, as well as to climbers in the new B&L discipline, the rules for which were officially published earlier this year in the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC)’s Rules 2022. The top eight climbers from this weekend’s individual Boulder and Lead competitions, based on their cumulative performances in both disciplines, competed today. The men are set to follow on Thursday, the last day of Sport Climbing at Munich 2022, with the Boulder round starting at 3:00 pm (UTC+2) and the Lead round beginning at 5:00 pm.

Sports Bulletin Report Munich (Germany):-The Polish women dominated proceedings at the European Championships Munich 2022 as they locked out the podium of the women’s speed final before Ukraine’s Danyil Boldyrev danced with delight at taking the men’s title. For the third day in a row, a full house at the Königsplatz in Munich, Germany, watched on excitedly as the speedsters went to work on the 15m Speed wall as the crowds cheered every race and tight finish. Looking at the start list for the women’s event, it was hard to look past a strong Polish squad of five climbers which included a current world champion and world record holder. And they didn’t disappoint. Three medals were assured for the nation as the semifinal line up was made up of Aleksandra Miroslaw, Natalia Kalucka, Aleksandra Kalucka and Patrycja Chudziak – who knocked out compatriot Anna Brozek in the quarterfinal, all representing Poland.  World record holder Miroslaw was a second clear of Chudziak in her semifinal and awaited one of the Kalucka sisters who faced off in the other semi. It was Aleksandra who just edged the sibling rivalry to advance for a shot at the gold while Natalia had to battle for bronze.  The final was a tense affair with Miroslaw seeming to stall near the start of the route, but she kept her cool as Aleksandra Kalucka looked to have a stutter of her own to let her rival edge ahead. Miroslaw tapped the top at 6.922 to take gold with Kalucka just behind with 7.085 and a silver medal. "I was prepared for this for the whole year,” said Miroslaw. “I was always expecting that my championship competition would be the best one. Sometimes it is not very good, like last year's world championship, but I know that I took a lesson (from that) and I wanted to win here this European title." In the bronze medal match Natalia Kalucka ensured she joined her sister on the podium by tapping at 7.197 compared to Chudziak’s 7.459. Natalia Kalucka said: “I’m really happy because this year was really hard for me and I’m very proud of myself and my sister. I like competing with my sister.”

Sports Bulletin Report Munich (Germany):-Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret claimed her second European Championship gold medal in as many days in front of another packed out crowd at the Königsplatz in Munich, Germany, before Adam Ondra of the Czech Republic also secured his second medal of the Championships. Fresh off a maiden European victory in yesterday’s Lead competition, Garnbret quickly added another Munich 2022 title by taking Boulder gold, but the Slovenian had to come back from a slow start to take the top step of the podium. As home favourite Hannah Meul and France’s Oriane Bertone both topped the first Boulder, Garnbret only managed to take a zone. The second problem was a totally different story though. With only Fanny Gibert of France reaching the zone, Garnbret entered the arena, quickly flashed the problem, and exited at the top of the rankings. Another flashed third Boulder and a final zone secured her medal. “Today was tough,” said Garnbret. “I started off pretty badly with the first boulder, not doing it, but I didn't panic. I just said to myself, ‘look, you have three boulders in front of you, anything can happen' and I continued to have fun.” Germany’s Meul had tried to put the pressure on Garnbret by flashing the third problem of the evening, but that in turn ultimately put pressure on the rest of the final’s competitors for the medal positions. Obviously buoyed by the home support, and asking for more noise whenever she needed it, Meul was spurred on to secure silver with fewer attempts for her two tops and three zones ahead of Bertone who took bronze.