Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Torino (Itlay):-Based at the foot of Mont Blanc, the French town of Chamonix will welcome 307 climbers – 137 women and 170 men – from 8 to 10 July. Athletes, representing 38 different countries and territories, are set to compete in the fifth Speed competition of the season, in addition to the third round of the IFSC Lead World Cup Series 2022.  Slovenian Olympian Janja Garnbret took the win in the first two Lead World Cups of the season. Could the Olympic gold medallist score a hat trick and continue her winning streak in Chamonix? Fellow Olympian Brooke Raboutou, of the USA, has likewise stood atop the Lead podium twice this year and as such, will be vying to add another medal to her collection this weekend.  In the men’s Lead event, American Olympian Colin Duffy and his compatriot, Jesse Grupper, are ones to watch, having bagged a medal at the IFSC Lead World Cups in both Innsbruck and Villars in recent weeks. After earning his first World Cup gold medal last weekend, could Japan’s Homma Taisei win another in Villars?  China dominated the Speed events in Villars last week, taking five out of a possible six medals. As such, all eyes will be on Team China in Chamonix – in particular last weekend’s gold medallists, Long Jianguo in the men’s event, and Deng Lijuan in the women’s. Indonesia’s Kiromal Katibin broke the Speed world record twice in quick succession in Villars, so spectators will be keeping watch for further record attempts in Chamonix this weekend.  SCHEDULE (UTC+2:00)  Friday, 8 July: 7:00 PM - Speed qualifications Saturday, 9 July: 10:00 AM - Lead qualifications 9:00 PM - Speed finals Sunday, 10 July: 10:00 AM - Lead semi-finals 8:30 PM - Women's Lead final IFSC PARACLIMBING WORLD CUP IN VILLARS The third and final IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup of the season will take place from 8 to 9 July in Villars, Switzerland. Representing 23 different countries and territories, a total of 119 athletes will compete across 12 Paraclimbing sport classes. Team Germany topped the medal table at the previous Paraclimbing World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, with two gold medals and four silver. Could they do the same in Villars this weekend? Japan, Austria, France, and Great Britain all additionally earned gold medals in Innsbruck and as such, will be looking to climb onto the podium again in Villars.

Sports Bulletin Report Torino (Italy):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), together with the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) and GB Climbing, agreed today that Edinburgh, Scotland will host the 13th event of the IFSC World Cup Series 2022 from 9 to 11 September.  The event replaces the IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup that was originally scheduled to take place in Wujiang, China, but was cancelled earlier this this year due to ongoing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.  IFSC President Marco Scolaris said: “It is always a challenge to find replacement hosts for events that are cancelled at short notice, but we know from past experience that Edinburgh will rise to the challenge and organise an event that will be successful. A big thank goes to the authorities in Scotland and to our counterparts at the BMC and GB Climbing.”  It will be a welcome return for the IFSC to the Scottish capital, which last hosted an IFSC event in 2019 – the European Championships in Lead and Speed – and last staged a World Cup event in 2017.  “The introduction of climbing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 successfully introduced our amazing sport to a massive new audience, and we now have the perfect opportunity to capitalise on that inspiration with an IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup hosted on home soil, ahead of Paris 2024,” said Lorraine Brown, Head of Performance for GB Climbing. “Not only does this offer us the chance to place the spotlight on one of the most exciting and adrenaline-fuelled sports out there, it’ll be valuable experience for our athletes - competing against the very best in the world, on an international stage. “We are grateful to our partners Event Scotland, the Edinburgh City Council, and Mountaineering Scotland for their support with this event.” Jamie Smith, Development Manager for Climb Scotland said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the Scottish climbing community to come, watch and be inspired by world class athletes competing on their doorstep. Mountaineering Scotland look forward to working with IFSC, BMC, the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, EventScotland and Edinburgh City Council around this event to make it an awesome experience for everyone involved, from athletes to spectators.

Sports Bulletin Report Villars (Switzerland):-The seventh stage of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2022 came to a conclusion this evening in Villars, Switzerland. Slovenian superstar Janja Garnbret claimed her 50th World Cup medal in the women’s Lead event, while Japan’s Homma Taisei earned his first World Cup win in the men’s. With a score of 36+, Homma climbed his way onto the top step of the podium in the men’s final, taking his first World Cup gold medal. The Japanese athlete adds this to the silver he earned at the IFSC Lead World Cup Xiamen 2019. Having made the final at the first Lead World Cup event of the 2022 season last weekend in Innsbruck, Austria, Homma missed out on the podium in ninth position. He therefore upped his game this weekend to secure his first win. “In Innsbruck I felt very sad because of my result, so this time I felt that I need to try my best. First of all I tried to concentrate, just to be myself. In the semi-final I didn’t feel so good about my performance and after the semi-final I got a lot of messages from my friends in Japan, so that’s why I did my best in the final, because of the cheering of my Japanese friends,” said Taisei after taking the win. In second place was last week’s bronze medallist Jesse Grupper, of the USA, who achieved the silver medal with a score of 34+. Grupper therefore took home his second ever World Cup medal. His teammate – Olympian Colin Duffy – claimed third place with 34, earning his third medal of the season. Duffy made history last weekend, by becoming the first male to secure the win in both Boulder and Lead at the same competition. Germany’s Yannick Flohé missed out on the podium by one position in fourth, with a score of 33. Yoshida Satone, of Japan, placed fifth with 27+, while his compatriot Ogata Yoshiyuki ranked sixth with 26+. France’s Mejdi Schalck placed seventh, scoring 19+, and Japan’s Yurikusa Ao placed eighth with 18+. Securing the only top of the night, Slovenian Olympian Janja Garnbret deservedly earned the fiftieth IFSC World Cup medal of her career so far. It is the 34th gold medal that the Olympic gold medallist has been awarded on the World Cup circuit, 20 of which she has won in Lead. Garnbret also holds a total of seven World Championship medals, including six gold. “I feel amazing, this was one of the best routes on the circuit. I feel that I was climbing with flow and just enjoying myself on the route. I was also climbing super fast, so I enjoyed it very much,” said Garnbret after stepping onto a World Cup podium for a fiftieth time. “In Innsbruck I felt kind of rusty because I haven’t had any comps except Meiringen this year, but then after semi’s I felt in the flow so I could do the same in Villars, so it feels amazing. I feel that this was easier than Innsbruck. Innsbruck was really the hardest route I’ve ever climbed. This one I feel like at observation it looked harder, but the hardest part was just the last two moves. I really enjoyed it. It had some tricky parts where you had to be careful, but nevertheless I enjoyed it,” she added about this evening’s route. Fellow Olympian Brooke Raboutou, of the USA, placed second with 37+, therefore taking the silver medal. The American has had a stellar season so far, having claimed three medals in Boulder – one silver and two bronze – and two in Lead – tonight’s silver, in addition to a bronze medal in Innsbruck last weekend. Natalia Grossman, Raboutou’s teammate and best friend, secured the bronze medal with 35+. As such, Grossman climbed onto a World Cup podium for a 15th time, having bagged eight medals in 2021, and seven so far this season. Italian Olympian Laura Rogora placed fourth with 31+, followed by France’s Manon Hily in fifth with 28+. A second attempt was awarded to Hily in tonight’s final, following a technical incident in which she was not given enough rope. Olympian Seo Chaehyun, of South Korea, placed sixth with 17+, while Japan’s Nakagawa Ryu and Tanii Natsuki scored a respective seventh and eighth, also with 17+. As the trio achieved the same score in this evening’s final, they were ranked based on their score in this morning’s semi-final.

Sports Bulletin Report Villars (Switzerland):-The fourth instalment of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Speed World Cup Series 2022 concluded in Villars, Switzerland, this evening, with China dominating both the women’s and men’s finals, taking five out of a possible six medals. Tonight marked the first World Cup podium for all six medallists. Participating in his debut IFSC World Cup, China’s Long Jianguo claimed the gold medal in the men’s event. The Chinese athlete took the win in a neck-and-neck finish with teammate Wu Peng, who came second, stopping the clock with respective times of 5.23 and 5.24 seconds in the final. In the small final of the men’s event, China’s Long Jinbao secured the win over past world record holder Veddriq Leonardo, of Indonesia, who fell and thus missed out on a podium position in Villars. Long Jinbao tapped the finish pad with a time of 5.16, walking away with the bronze medal alongside teammates Long Jianguo and Wu Peng. The IFSC Speed World Cup Villars 2022 is the first World Cup in which all three podium finishers have competed. “I feel very excited and I didn’t expect this. It’s my first time to compete in a World Cup so I feel pretty good. I want to thank my country for supporting me step by step in getting this medal,” said Long Jianguo after taking gold in his debut World Cup. Having set not one, but two new world records in yesterday’s qualification round, Indonesia’s Kiromal Katibin slipped against compatriot Leonardo in the quarter final and as such, did not progress to the final race for the podium. China’s Deng Lijuan stopped the clock at 6.87 seconds in the women’s final, taking the win over teammate Niu Di, who slipped and finished in 8.22 seconds. Deng has now competed in six IFSC World Cups, with tonight marking her first podium finish as she concluded with a gold medal. The Chinese athlete previously won gold at the IFSC Youth Asian Championships Chongqing 2018. Her compatriot Niu, who took silver in Speed at the IFSC World Championships Hachioji 2019, also earned her first World Cup medal this evening, finishing in second place. “I’m very happy. I want to say a big thanks to my country because has given such strong support during the pandemic. After two years we have finally come back to the stage!” said Deng following her first World Cup win. Made Rita Kusuma Dewi Desak, of Indonesia, completed the women’s podium in third position, having stopped the clock at 7.06 seconds in the small final. Desak bested Poland’s Anna Brozek, who finished in fourth with a time of 7.39 seconds. With a bronze medal win, this is also the first podium finish for Desak.

Sports Bulletin Report Villars (Switzerland):-Indonesia’s Kiromal Katibin set Speed qualification alight at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup in Villars, Switzerland, breaking the world record twice in quick succession.  Drawn against Man-hei Chung of Hong Kong, China in the first round, Katibin had the wall to himself after a false start for his competitor, and he took full advantage taking just 5.09 seconds to tap the finish pad.  Not happy with his third world record in four events, Katibin came back to take on Lane B and went even faster at 5.04 seconds to claim yet another world’s best time and move within touching distance of a sub-5. There were three Chinese athletes making up the top four behind Katibin with Cao Long in second with 5.21, Long Jianguo third with 5.22, and Wu Peng with 5.32. Before today, just three climbers had gone sub-7 seconds in women’s Speed. By the end of the day that total had more than doubled as four athletes hit the 6-second mark including China’s Di Niu who posted a new Asian Record of 6.91. Compatriot Lijuan Deng followed closely behind with 6.94 just beating Aleksandra Kalucka of Poland who tapped at 6.95. Made Rita Kusuma Dewi Desak of Indonesia was the other climber hitting the sub-7 with 6.97.

Sports Bulletin Report Villars (Switzeland):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2022 is set to continue in the Swiss village of Villars this week, from 30 June to 2 July. Following the Lead season opener last weekend in Innsbruck, Austria, Villars’ Place du Rendez-Vous will welcome the second Lead round of the year, in addition to the fourth stage of the 2022 Speed World Cup Series. A total of 324 athletes – 150 women and 174 men – are registered to compete in Villars, representing 35 countries and territories. All eyes will be on Olympian Janja Garnbret in the women’s Lead event, with the Slovenian having secured her 33rd World Cup gold medal in Innsbruck. Should Garnbret climb her way onto the podium this weekend, she will walk away with the 50th World Cup medal of her career. After taking the silver medal in Innsbruck, Olympian and reigning Lead World Champion Seo Chaehyun, of South Korea, is also one to watch in Villars. Having made history in Innsbruck by becoming the first male to win Boulder and Lead at the same IFSC competition, Olympian Colin Duffy, of the USA, will be vying for another medal in the Villars men’s Lead event. Despite missing out on a podium position in his hometown of Innsbruck, Olympic bronze medallist and Lead World Champion Jakob Schubert, of Austria, could also see his name at the top of the score board this week. After three Speed World Cups in May – one in Seoul, South Korea, and two in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA – the Speed season has taken a month-long hiatus. However, the fastest climbers in the world will return to the walls this weekend and one question is looming in the Alpine air – will Villars see the setting of a new Speed world record?  Polish Olympian Aleksandra Miroslaw and Indonesia’s Kiromal Katibin have each set not one, but two world records so far this season. At the opening Speed World Cup of the year in Seoul, Miroslaw set a new record of 6.64 seconds, beating the previous world record of 6.84 seconds which she set at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. However in Salt Lake City, the Olympian topped the Speed wall in a staggering 6.53 seconds, setting her third consecutive world record. Katibin stopped the clock at 5.17 seconds in Seoul – 0.03 seconds faster than the previous record set by his teammate, Veddriq Leonardo, last year. In Salt Lake City, the Indonesian bested his earlier time with a new record of 5.10 seconds, also achieving his third world record. As such, spectators will be watching for another potential World Record this weekend. The competition schedule is as follows: SCHEDULE (UTC+2:00) Friday, 1 July: 9:00 AM - Lead qualifications 9:00 PM - Speed finals Saturday, 2 July: 10:00 AM - Lead semi-finals 8:00 PM - Men's Lead final

Sports Bulletin Report Innsbruck (Austria):-The opening Lead World Cup of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2022 concluded this evening in Innsbruck, Austria, where Olympians Janja Garnbret, of Slovenia, and Colin Duffy, of the USA, claimed the Lead season’s first gold medals. In doing so, Garnbret bagged the 33rd gold medal of her World Cup career, while Duffy made history by becoming the first male athlete to win Boulder and Lead at the same event. 33RD GOLD FOR GARNBRET: Having skipped the Boulder season to focus on Lead training – bar the IFSC Boulder World Cup Meiringen 2022 where she ranked first – Olympic gold medallist Garnbret returned to competition on full form this weekend, climbing her way onto the women’s Lead final podium in first position. With a score of 39+, Garnbret earned the 33rd World Cup gold medal of her glittering career so far. Tonight’s win marks the 19th World Cup gold that the Slovenian has won in Lead alone. “It’s good to be back! I think it was a good decision to skip Boulder comps, I could come back refreshed with a fresh mind, so I really enjoyed the weekend. I won’t lie, I was nervous because I haven’t done a competition for so long, but I enjoyed the whole weekend and it just feels so good to be back,” said Garnbret after adding another gold medal to her growing collection.  “I need to thank the routesetting team because they did an amazing job. I love hard routes and especially after semi’s was too easy, we got something completely opposite – probably the hardest route I’ve ever climbed on the World Cup circuit! It’s amazing and I hope this continues the whole season,” she added about this evening’s route, excited at the level of difficulty offered.  Fellow Olympian and reigning Lead World Champion Seo Chaehyun, of South Korea, scored 27+ in the first Lead final of the season and thus, walked away with a silver medal. Having made her debut on the World Cup circuit in 2019, Seo has so far stepped onto the podium a total of eight times, with tonight marking her ninth World Cup medal win. Completing the women’s podium in third position was Olympian Brooke Raboutou, of the USA. The American concluded with a score of 27+ to match Seo, yet placed third due using more time than the Korean. A bronze medal win tonight is the eighth World Cup medal that Raboutou has earned so far. Italian Olympian Laura Rogora placed fourth, also with a score of 27+ but using more time than Seo and Raboutou. Japan’s Tanii Natsuki ranked fifth with 25+, the USA’s Natalia Grossman scored 22 and placed sixth, Slovenia’s Vita Lukan placed seventh with 16, while Austrian Olympian Jessica Pilz placed eighth with 8+ after a disappointing early slip. DUFFY MAKES HISTORY WITH DOUBLE WIN: Fresh from the podium of the Boulder World Cup in Innsbruck earlier this week, American Olympian Colin Duffy made Sport Climbing history this evening, by becoming the first male athlete to win Boulder and Lead at the same IFSC competition. Until tonight, this had only been achieved by a female athletes – Janja Garnbret at the World Cup in Innsbruck last year. This is Duffy’s third World Cup medal to date and indeed, his second of the week. “Coming into this competition I was pretty unsure about how Boulder would go, and with the start of the Lead season you never know how fit everyone else is, but I was excited to compete here in Innsbruck. I love this venue and things have just gone magically for me here,” said Duffy following his win. When questioned on whether he felt the effects of Boulder in today’s final, he added: “I was feeling quite tired both physically and mentally. I think keeping yourself together through that many rounds of hard competition is really hard on the mind, but as soon as I stepped on the stage for Lead finals I was right back in the zone. I was just happy to climb. I knew the stakes were possible to get the double win, but at the end of the day I really just wanted to climb to my potential.” Japan’s Yurikusa Ao completed the competition in second place with a score of 37+. Competing in his second ever World Cup final, tonight Yurikusa bagged the first World Cup medal of his career.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-World’s youngest champion mountaineer Shehroze Kashif called on Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Asadullah Faiz at Punjab Stadium on Friday. Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Asadullah Faiz expressed his best wishes for Shehroze's next expedition. Shehroze Kashif, who is also Sports Board Punjab’s Goodwill Ambassador, will leave to scale top peaks Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum-1 and Gasherbrum-2 in a few days time. Shehroze, who has so far climbed 7 out of the 14 highest peaks in the world, is the youngest climber in the world to climb world’s top peaks like Mount Everest and K2. Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Asadullah Faiz said mountaineering requires a lot of courage, hard work and enthusiasm. “Raising the flag of Pakistan on the highest peaks of the world is commendable and fearless and brave young man Shehroze has done this feat several times at such a young age”. Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Asadullah Faiz further said the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs will extend all possible cooperation to Shehroze in his future expeditions. “Private sector has also been invited to develop player welfare programmes in future”. Shehroze Kashif on this occasion expressed his determination to conquer all the great peaks of the world. He also thanked Sports and Youth Affairs Department Punjab for the valuable cooperation it extended for his future expeditions.

Sports Bulletin Report Innsbruck (Austria):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Boulder World Cup Series 2022 concluded at the Kletterzentrum in Innsbruck, Austria, this evening, where USA’s Natalia Grossman bagged her fifth gold medal of the season. In doing so, the American became the overall 2022 IFSC Boulder World Cup champion. With four tops and four zones – three of them flashes – Grossman successfully secured the win tonight, earning her sixth and final podium position of the 2022 Boulder season. The reigning Boulder World Champion obtained a silver medal in the opening World Cup of the year and subsequently, has stepped onto the top step of the podium with a gold medal in each round since. In doing so, Grossman guaranteed the season win – her second consecutive overall Boulder World Cup victory – before even setting foot off the ground in tonight’s final. The American was awarded 5,000.0 points in the overall ranking and thus, is the fifth female athlete in history to have won more than one World Cup Series. Moreover, Grossman is now one of only four women to have won five or more World Cups within one season. “It hasn’t even sunk in really. I’m speechless!” said Grossman after taking the season title. When questioned about the final bloc of the night, she commented: “You couldn’t really see the hold that you were going for. I love crimps so I was like ‘I know if I find the hold, I have a good chance of sticking it’. I gave it what I’ve got!” Hot on Grossman’s heels in second place was Hannah Meul of Germany, who concluded the competition with an almost identical score to the American, bar one additional attempt on boulder three. With four tops, four zones, and just one more attempt than Grossman, the German consequently claimed the silver medal – her second consecutive podium finish and the second World Cup silver medal of her career so far. Completing this evening’s podium line-up was Olympic silver medallist Nonaka Miho, of Japan, who took the bronze medal with two tops and two zones. Positioning herself on the podium for the third time this season, the Olympian secured second place in the overall Boulder season ranking, with a total of 3,210.0 points. With one top and two zones each, Japan’s Ito Futaba and South Korea’s Seo Chaehyun placed a respective fourth and sixth in tonight’s final – their scores differentiated by just one attempt. Kikuchi Saki placed fifth, with zero tops but two zones. Taking the final podium position in the overall Boulder World Cup 2022 ranking was Olympian Brooke Raboutou, of the USA. Having stood atop the podium three times this year, the American claimed third place in this year’s Boulder World Cup with 2,940.0 points, therefore joining teammate and best friend Grossman on the podium again tonight.

Sports Bulletin Report Innsbruck (Austria):-The final men’s Boulder event of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2022 took place this evening in Innsbruck, Austria. The men’s Boulder final not only saw Tokyo 2020 Olympian Colin Duffy, of the USA, take his first ever IFSC World Cup gold medal, it also saw Japan’s Ogata Yoshiyuki crowned 2022 Boulder season champion. Until this evening Duffy’s highest World Cup placement was third, following his bronze medal win in Lead at the IFSC World Cup Villars 2021. However, with three tops and four zones, the Olympian tonight claimed his first World Cup gold, gazing at the scoreboard in disbelief after seeing the competition’s final result. “I was counting the attempts in my head, I thought that if Yoshi had flashed then he would have won, then as he had taken a few attempts on the first move, I started to realise that I had won the competition and I was in shock. I still am in shock!” said Duffy on his victory. “I wouldn’t be here without the rest of the USA team athletes, the support and camaraderie that I share with the team is a key part of these World Cup experiences. I’m glad that they were here to cheer me on and support me to the gold medal,” he added. In second place was Lee Dohyun, of South Korea, who climbed atop his first IFSC World Cup podium tonight with two tops and four zones. Lee narrowly missed out on a podium position at the previous Boulder World Cup in Brixen just weeks ago, where he placed fourth. Japan’s Ogata Yoshiyuki took the bronze medal this evening with the same score as Lee, placing third due to using a higher number of attempts than the silver medallist. In a stellar 2022 season for the Japanese athlete, Ogata has stood atop five out of a possible six IFSC Boulder World Cup podiums this year, earning one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals. As such, Ogata claims the title of overall Boulder World Cup winner for 2022, with 3,990.0 points. Knowing what was at stake for the athlete, spectators lit up Innsbruck’s Kletterzentrum with their smartphones as Ogata took to the mats to take on his final boulder. South Korean Olympian Chon Jongwon placed fourth in tonight’s final, with two tops and three zones, while Japan’s Fujii Kokoro and Germany’s Yannick Flohé placed fifth and sixth, respectively. The latter two obtained the same score as Chon, though placed lower due to their higher number of attempts. Scoring a hat trick in the overall 2022 IFSC Boulder World Cup ranking, Japan also secured the second and third place positions, in addition to Ogata’s first place ranking. Olympian Narasaki Tomoa and Fujii Kokoro scored 3,405.0 and 3,110.0 points, respectively.