Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Seoul (South Korea): The final IFSC World Cup event of the year takes place in Seoul, South Korea with a crowd of 1500 spectators cheering on the Boulder athletes at the Kangnam Sports Climbing Centre. Not only were there World Cup medals up for grabs but also 2024 Series titles and honours to be won.MEN'S BOULDERSouth Korea’s LEE Dohyun wins gold in his homeland – the third win of his career and the second gold in a row after Prague at the last eventRollercoaster competition for Lee – topped qualification by a large margin, just made final with the last attempt of the semi-finals, wins goldTwo tops and four zones just enough to win ahead of silver medallist, Maximillian MILNE (GBR)Milne takes first World Cup silver since Brixen (ITA) 2022 Milne also with two tops and four zones, but more attempts to the zone than winner LeeAMAGASA Sohta (JPN) takes bronze with four zones – the second World Cup medal of his career after winning gold in Innsbruck earlier in the seasonDayan AHKTAR (GBR) finishes a personal best fourth – previous best was 15th5th – CHON Jongwon (KOR), 6th – NARASAKI Meichi (JPN)WOMEN'S BOULDERUSA’s Annie SANDERS wins her first Boulder World Cup gold medal in SeoulHer previous best result was bronze in Innsbruck earlier in the seasonWon with three tops and four zones, with a flash on the last boulder cementing her winAlso with three tops and four zones, and another personal best result, France’s Zélia AVEZOU wins silver – her previous best was fourthAnother personal best from Erin MCNEICE (GBR) who takes bronze with two tops and four zonesMcneice just the third British woman to podium at a Boulder World Cup after Shauna COXSEY and Claire BELLUSA’s Natalia GROSSMAN finished in fourth, Japan’s NONAKA Miho in fifth and France’s Agathe CALLIET in sixth – another personal best result after making her first World Cup finalOVERALL 2024 SERIES RANKING (MEN’S):Japan lockout the 2024 Series podiumANRAKU Sorato wins the overall title for the second year in a row – only the fourth male to win back-to-back titlesAnraku helped on way to title winning gold in Salt Lake City, USANARASAKI brothers join teammate Anraku on the podiumAlthough not winning a gold, Meichi takes second ahead of Tomoa who won the first event of the season in Keqiao, China 1. ANRAKU Sorato – 3365 points 2. NARASAKI Meichi – 2860 points3. NARASAKI Tomoa – 2690 pointsWOMENUSA’s Natalia Grossman wins the 2024 Boulder World Cup Series title for the fourth time – becoming the fourth woman to do so, but the first to win four in a rowGrossman won two World Cup golds during the seriesOceania MACKENZIE (AUS) won her first World Cup medal in Prague on her way to second overallNAKAMURA Mao (JPN) third with consistent results during the season 1. Natalia GROSSMAN – 2610 points2. Oceania MACKENZIE – 2405 points3. NAKAMURA Mao – 2262.5 points  

Sports Bulletin ReportPrague (Czechia): The men’s Boulder final at the IFSC World Cup Prague 2024 turned out to be a balanced, hard-fought battle that went down to the very last climber on the very last boulder. Lee Dohyun of South Korea, the gold medal winner at last year’s event in Prague, Czechia, won the second World Cup event of his young career on the very same stage where he took his first one. “I love Prague! I can’t believe I won again here, how can I explain my feelings? I’m just very happy! There were some tricky moves in the final, some boulders were complicated for me, but I did my best and it paid off,” said the 21-year-old Paris 2024 Olympian, who closed his final with two tops and four zones. As both boulders number two and three turned out to be impossible to top for all the six finalists, the zone secured by Lee on M3 in his 13th attempt was decisive in separating him from France’s Manuel Cornu. Indeed, the French experienced climber placed second with two tops and three zones, finally stepping back on an IFSC World Cup podium five years after his previous one – in Chongqing, China, in 2019. Cornu said: “It’s crazy, right? It definitely feels crazy. I don’t have a lot of words tonight. I’m back from a long difficult period. One year ago, here in Prague, the first words to my coach after the qualification round were ‘It’s over for me’. And now I’m here, on the podium. I didn’t think it was possible for both [Anraku] Sorato and [Narasaki] Tomoa to fall on the fourth boulder. So I was quite sure I was going to get fourth place. I was very surprised.” Paris 2024 champion Toby Roberts of Great Britain finished in third place and pocketed bronze with two tops and two zones. The men’s Boulder & Lead gold medallist at this year’s Olympics, Roberts was coming from the men’s Lead gold he won at the IFSC World Cup Koper 2024, earlier this month.Roberts said: “I am so psyched! It was a strange final, I never thought I could be on the podium, but I did not give up, I was able to put it together and find the top on the final boulder. I can’t quite believe I’m on the podium, but I am really happy.” Paris 2024 silver medal winner Anraku Sorato of Japan placed just outside of the medal positions, taking fourth place with one top and four zones. His more experienced teammate Narasaki Tomoa followed in fifth, also with one and four, while the crowd’s favourite Adam Ondra, climbing on home turf, concluded with one top and three zones. 

Sports Bulletin ReportGuiyang (China): Day eight of the IFSC Youth World Championships 2024 crowned new champions in both the Speed and Boulder disciplines in Guiyang, China. Japan added to their medal haul with another gold medal from Kayotani Ritsu in the men’s U20 Boulder and China increased their tally with yet another podium lock out, this time in the men’s U16 Speed.There will be gold medals heading back to Europe also as France’s Lily Abriat claimed gold in the women’s U20 Boulder and Italy’s Alice Marcelli took the top step of the women’s U16 Speed competition.BOULDER: Japan’s Kayotani Ritsu won gold at the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Youth Worlds, and he made it a three-peat by taking the men’s U20 Boulder title in Guiyang. Kayotani had looked strong throughout the final, but so had his rivals who all topped at least two boulders, but it was the fourth and final problem where the Japanese climber showed why he has so many gold medals in his cabinet. With none of the finalists even making the zone, Kayotani stepped up and took just two attempts to top the previous un-toppable boulder.In silver medal position was Germany’s Yannick Nagel who had flashed two of the three boulders up to the final one. Two attempts on the first boulder gave the German silver ahead of bronze medallist Slav Kirov of Bulgaria who took one more attempt on boulder three. France’s Kito Martini in fourth, Japan’s Tamiya Eito in fifth and Australia’s Dylan Parks in sixth all topped two boulders after making the men’s final.In the women’s competition, France’s Lily Abriat was the standout performer topping three boulders and making the zone in the other. Silver medallist Anastasiia Kobets topped two. Abriat flashed two of her boulders in her run to gold and upgraded her 2023 bronze medal from Seoul, South Korea. Ukraine’s Kobets leaves China with two silver medals following her Lead podium earlier on in the week and showing her all-round strength in the youth field.Germany’s Anna Maria Apel was one of only two, alongside Abriat, to make the zone on boulder one and flashed boulder two, despite not making the zones in either of the final two boulders, she held on for the bronze medal. Sarina Ghaffari of Iran was fourth going out on a high by topping the final boulder, Italy’s Francesca Matuella was fifth and Great Britain’s Emma Edwards was sixth.SPEED: In the U16 Speed competition there was yet another Chinese podium lock out, but unfortunately for the host nation Italy’s Alice Marcelli didn’t read the script and prevented the double-double. China won two golds in Speed on day seven taking both the men’s and women’s titles, but they couldn’t repeat the feat as Marcelli grew in confidence throughout the competition.Making it through to the final four, Marcelli beat Hong Kong’s Chen Sing Sen to set up a final with home favourite Wang Chunyouxuan who had beaten Thailand’s Ratchamon Thongbai in her semi-final. Both Marcelli and Wang slipped in the final race, but Marcelli overcame her rival with a 8.85s run compared to 10.21s. Beaten semi-finalist’s Thongbai and Chen faced off in the bronze medal match with the Thai climber coming out on top in a close race – 8.73s to 8.81s.Just like the U18’s, the Chinese U16 team scored their own podium lock out, this time in the men’s competition. Again three of the four finalists where from China so medals were always assured. Zhao Yicheng, Li Yang and Yu Zexuan had to battle USA’s Khoi Tran, and Li was the first to do so. He beat the American in the semi-final to put himself in with a shot of gold, and left Tran to fight for bronze.Zhao was to be the gold medal contender beating teammate Yu in the other semi-final, and he also went on to take the top step of the podium by beating Li 5.03s to 5.52s in the final race of the competition. Zhao had the gold, Li the silver. Yu joined his compatriots on the podium beating Tran 5.77s to 6.92s in the small final to take the bronze.

Sports Bulletin ReportGuiyang (China): Slovenia’s Jennifer Eucharia Buckley became a double 2024 Youth Worlds champion after taking the U18 Boulder title in Guiyang, China with Japan’s Nagamori Hareru adding yet another piece of silverware to his nations tally.With a certain Janja Garnbret seemingly monopolising the top step of a climbing podium, her country mate Buckley also dominated the competition with four tops in the final to add the Boulder title to the Lead title she won just a few days ago.Buckley has stood on an IFSC World Cup podium in 2024 when she won a silver medal, behind Garnbret, in Innsbruck, Austria and she has taken that experience into the 2024 Youth Worlds.After her win Buckley said: “I feel great. I achieved what my main goal of the year was. I think in the World Cup’s I went for a different reason; it was more of an experience and learning, but here I came with a mission and a goal, and I’m really content I could make it come true.”Japan’s Murakoshi Kaho took silver to make it a full set of Youth Worlds medals after taking gold in Seoul, South Korea in 2023 and bronze in Dallas, USA in 2022. Murakoshi made two tops and four zones for her second-place finish.Completing the podium was Spain’s Geila Macià Martín who took her second bronze of the event after also taking the same colour in the Lead. Macià Martín made one top and four zones.Japan’s Oda Natsumi was in fourth also making one top but only three zones. Great Britain’s Lucy Garlick was fifth and Israel’s Tamar Cohen was sixth.In the men’s competition Nagamori topped three boulders and made the zone in all four for his gold medal, and enjoyed himself in the process.Nagamori said: “I got the top on the first boulder, and I was feeling great, so I threw a kiss to the crowd. I got another top on boulder four but I was too focussed at that stage and I was just thinking about the climbing, I didn’t have any headspace to throw another kiss.” The Japanese climber hasn’t been working on Boulder as much, but nevertheless it didn’t show: “I have been focussing more on Lead climbing for this competition so to win the Boulder title is a bit of a shock for me. But I’m happy, just so happy.”South Korea’s Park Beomjin was in silver medal position with two tops and four zones and was ahead of bronze medallist Corentin Laporte of Belgium.Laporte had one top on boulder four and won his medal by just one attempt better than Thailand’s Auswin Aueareechit who also scored one top and three zones. Aueareechit’s top came on boulder one. Fifth place was China’s Hu Junzhe and Japan’s Hommyo Kei was in sixth.

Sports Bulletin ReportGuiyang (China): The U16 men and women brought the Lead climbing to a close at the IFSC Youth World Championships Guiyang 2024 as Japan and South Korea claimed the golds. Japan’s Hayashi Arisa added to her nation’s tally from the U18 and U20 categories the previous night while South Korea’s Jung Chanjin claimed his country’s first gold of the event. Hayashi was the last to climb in the women’s category and knew only a top would be enough. She confidently ascended the wall and concentration turned to elation as she turned to face the crowd knowing she was the new Youth world champion.Hayashi said: “I’m very, very happy. I like Lead and I have trained a lot of Lead for this event. I knew I had to top to win, and I felt a little bit nervous, but I wanted to win and get a medal and so I just had to do my best.”The home crowd in China just missed out on the golden celebration as Yu Chenxuan was the one Hayashi moved above for the win. It meant with her top Yu had to settle for silver ahead of Switzerland’s Julia Rasmussen who also topped for bronze.Another home favourite, Li Meini, just missed out on the podium despite also topping the route. Li was fourth ahead of Ukraine’s Rafael Kazbekova who was just one second away from also joining the group of climbers to top. She had hold 54 for fifth place.Great Britain’s Isabella Rinaldi was sixth with hold 43+, Japan’s Nakamura Marin was seventh on hold 42+ and South Korea’s Lee Suye was also on the same hold but in eighth.Just like Hayashi, Jung was also the last climber out in his competition and was also feeling confident after topping every route so far in the qualification and semi-final. It was his top in the semi-final that secured Jung the gold as he scored a hold 39+ climb just like silver medallist Hamada Ryusei of Japan, with his better countback scores securing the win.Joining Jung and Hamada on the podium was bronze medallist Park Taesung, also of South Korea. Park climbed to hold 37+ for his medal. Fourth place went to Japan’s Nakata Kazuki on hold 36+ and fifth was South Korea’s Lee Hayool with the same score.Italy’s Andrea Ludovico Chelleris was sixth on hold 34+, Japan’s Uehara Ikken was seventh on hold 28 and USA’s Beckett Hsin was unfortunately stopped on hold 14 following a quickdraw error. The Youth Worlds now moves away from Lead to the Boulder and Speed disciplines for all age categories - U16,U18, U20.

Sports Bulletin ReportGuiyang (China): The first 2024 IFSC Youth world champions were crowned today as Japan ruled the men’s Lead and Slovenia the women’s.There were four sets of medals and titles on offer on the third day of competition in Guiyang, China as the U18 and U20 men and women crowned their new Lead champions.In the first finals of the evening, Slovenia’s Jennifer Eucharia Buckley stood atop the women’s podium and Japan’s Kurashita Manato the men’s.Buckley was the last to climb in the women’s competition and her score of 38+ was enough to take the win ahead of silver medallist Flora Oblasser from Austria and bronze medallist Geila Macia Martin from Spain.Oblasser had a 37 hold climb and Macia Martin a 32+ and actually won the medal on time, by just five seconds ahead of Japan’s Mugishima Kohana.     Spain’s Julia Benach Zubero was fifth, Austria’s Anika Deubler was sixth, Slovenia’s Lana Goric was seventh and Japan’s Yama Manami was eighth.In the men’s competition Kurashita won his gold with a 43+ climb ahead of both South Korea’s Lee Hakjin and teammate Funaki Haru who both scored 40+. Lee won the silver thanks to better previous results and Funaki had to settle for bronze.South Korea’s Noh Hyunseung was just off the podium in fourth ahead of fifth placed Auswin Aueareechit from Thailand, Czechia’s Jan Stipek was sixth, Japan’s Nagamori Hareru was seventh and France’s Akyan Etchar was eighth.Completing the podium was Austria’s Magdalena Kompein who with a 31+ hold climb for bronze took her country’s second medal of the night. Switzerland’s Noe Looser finished in fourth, Japan’s Takeuchi Ai was fifth, Austria’s Ines Schwaiger was sixth, Iran’s Sarina Ghaffari was seventh and Japan’s Nagashima Michika was eighth.Last but by no mean’s least, Sugimoto climbed to hold 43+ and to the top step of the podium ahead of silver medallist Darius Rapa of Romania who reached hold 38+ and bronze medallist Omata Shion of Japan who reached hold 35.Omata just pipped Germany’s Yannick Nagel in fourth and Great Britain’s Rhys Conlon in fifth to the bronze thanks to countback as they all reached the same hold in the final. Bulgaria’s Slav Kirov was sixth, Great Britain’s Jack Macdougall was seventh and Japan’s Wada Kisato was eighth.

Sports Bulletin ReportGuiyang (China): Nearly 600 young climbers from around the world were welcomed to Guiyang, China for the IFSC Youth World Championships 2024 ahead of ten days of competition at the Rock Climbing Hall, Guizhou Bureau of Sports Qingzhen Sports Training Base.Held from 22-31 August, 599 athletes from 49 nations - 334 male and 265 female – will compete in the Boulder, Lead and Speed disciplines across three age categories – U16, U18 and U20, to crown the youth world champions.Hosted by the Chinese National Federation, the event was opened by Vice Mayor of Guiyang Long Cong, IFSC Event Delegate Christoph Billon and IFSC President Marco Scolaris who welcomed all the climbers via video message.There was a feast of dancing and singing for the attending climbers, coaches and officials after the flag ceremony where a country representative waved their flag as part of the parade of nations. Australia’s Cléa Hall also read the Athletes Pledge on behalf of all the competing climbers.Each year the climbers attending the Youth Worlds do so with a range of experience, and 2024 is no different. Some will get their first taste of international competition; some will get their first taste of the host nation and others return with the experience gained from previous years and other IFSC competitions.Austria’s Flora Oblasser returns to the Youth Worlds with IFSC World Cup experience now under her belt, she said: “I’m really looking forward to the competition, I’ve never been to China so it’s going to be a new experience. I’ll just do Lead and then I’ll head back to Europe to do the World Cup in Koper, and that will be the last for me this year.“Competing at the World Cup’s help me to prepare for the Youth Worlds because the routes are really hard, and I hope for some similar routes at the Youth World Championship. It’s good for my mental game to climb with such good climbers and it will help me to be calmer when I climb at the Youths.”Malaysia’s Ke Qun Tao also returns after a debut performance in the 2023 edition, he said: “Competing at last year’s Youth Worlds was a real eye-opening experience as it was the first IFSC competition of my life. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in climbing, it was so different to normal competitions.”

Sports Bulletin ReportParis (France): Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret became a two-time Olympic Games gold medallist after winning the women’s Boulder & Lead competition despite a mid-session injury scare.Garnbret made the top step ahead of close friend and silver medallist Brooke Raboutou of the USA and bronze medallist Jessica Pilz of Austria. Garnbret’s gold also made her the first Slovenian to win two gold medals at a summer Olympic Games.Sitting on top of the Boulder standings at the end of the round, Garnbret went back into isolation ahead of the Lead round in some discomfort in her efforts on the fourth Boulder, as she explains: "I was really scared because my finger got stuck in between two holes (of a hold) and I couldn't get it out. So I was scared that I had fractured something, and I already fractured exactly this finger ten years ago.With her 84.4pts from Boulder and a climb of 84.pts on Lead, Garnbret was lowered to the floor where she was visibly emotional that she had retained the title she won at Tokyo 2020.Garnbret said: "I'm just feeling incredibly happy and proud of myself, what I did, and I'm relieved, because it's finally over. I qualified one year ago (at the IFSC World Championships Bern 2023), so it was hard to wait and to finally start the competition. I don't know if people realise how hard it is to go out there and just do it, but it wasn't easy at all, but I did it. I learned in Tokyo how to handle the pressure at the Olympics. And I could use that here, and I was just in my own world. I was just doing what I do in training, completely focused. I didn't let anything affect me. So I could just enjoy."  Raboutou said: “Being in France, being half French, and having my French family out here, and the support from the crowd, I did feel it. This was just the dream. We have an incredible friendship, where we both want each other to do our best. That's what happened today, and it feels really good to share that with somebody. To share that connection as both a friend and an idol is incredible. I look up to her so much, and I'm so grateful for the support she's given me as well.” Pilz said: "I'm overjoyed that it worked out like that. I have to say, behind the wall (she felt pressure), clearly. But once I was on the wall, I just realised that this was my thing. I just feel comfortable on the Lead wall. I feel comfortable there and always much more excited. You don't know exactly what's coming. But in the Lead, I knew that if I climbed as easily as I did in the semi and could simply deliver my performance, then I could go far. I'm just happy that it worked out that way." 

Sports Bulletin ReportParis (France): Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo took Olympic gold in the men’s Speed – the first for climbing, the first for Indonesia at Paris 2024 and the first for his country in a sport other than badminton.China’s Wu Peng won silver and USA’s Sam Watson won bronze in what was a consistent and fast finals series with five out of the eight races all producing sub-5 races.The first was Wu versus the world champion Matteo Zurloni of Italy with just 0.002 in it as Wu posted a 4.99(5)s and Zurloni a 4.99(7)s. Wu also had to beat the world record holder Watson to set up the final race with Leonardo who first beat France’s Bassa Mawem and then Iran’s Reza Alipour Shenazandifard.Leonardo posted a PB of 4.48s in the semi-final with Alipour Shenazandifard, and he had to as the Iranian also scored a PB of 4.84s. Leonardo’s PB didn’t last that long as he also needed another, this time of 4.75s, to beat Wu for the gold medal as Wu posted his PB of 4.77s in yet another close race.On his in Leonardo said: "I feel very happy, I feel very joyful to bring the first gold medal for Indonesia at Paris 2024 to my country."On dealing with the pressure he said: "I was very excited, and there was also anxiety. My heart raced, but I stayed focused and finished it."Looking at the immediate future, there is another goal for Leonardo: "Now I'm going back to Indonesia and focusing on training. We train together in Indonesia and focus on the next competitions and also to break the world record."There will be a welcoming party. It is going to be amazing for me."After his silver Wu said: "I'm not in my best shape today. Usually I feel lighter and I don't need so much power to get up. Today my body felt heavy but I managed to make quick adjustments."I was nervous but tried to focus on myself. I didn't think about how others would be performing. For me it was important to just get over the first round, I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself. But I was really happy to have made it to the final."After losing at the semi-final stage, Watson had to compose himself for the bronze small final against Alipour Shenazandifard. And the American composed himself very well as he once again lowered his

Sports Bulletin ReportInnsbruck (Austria): Another sold-out crowd celebrated the medal winners of the men’s Boulder final in Innsbruck, Austria, where the fourth IFSC World Cup event of the season is currently underway.Climbing in front of 3,000 roaring fans, Team Japan absolutely dominated the final, but not in the way many would have expected. Indeed, current Boulder World Cup champion and world ranking number one Anraku Sorato only concluded in third place with two tops and three zones, failing to top the fourth and decisive boulder and winning his first World Cup bronze medal in the discipline.The top of the podium was taken by 24-year-old Amagasa Sohta, securing the first gold of his career with a three-top, three-zone performance that closed in spectacular fashion, as the climber from Kanagawa topped M4 in four attempts.Amagasa said: “I can’t believe it, it feels like a dream! My performance today was very good, almost perfect. Now I will skip Lead and focus on the event in Prague. Arigato!”Completing the all-Japanese podium. Narasaki Meichi won his second consecutive silver in Innsbruck, also closing the round with three tops and three zones, but also a higher number of attempts to top than Amagasa.Future Paris 2024 Olympian Toby Roberts of Great Britain and first-time final participant Elias Arriagada Krüger of Germany finished in fourth and fifth position. Roberts with two tops and two zones, Arriagada Krüger with one top and three zones.It is the third time that the Japanese national team have swept the men’s Boulder podium: first it happened in 2021, also in Innsbruck, with Ogata Yoshiyuki, Narasaki Tomoa, and Fujii Kokoro respectively taking gold, silver, and bronze. The following season, in Seoul, South Korea, Fujii won gold, Narasaki won silver, and Ogata won bronze.