Sports Bulletin Report
Keqiao (China): Just 109 days before the start of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2024 are kicking off in Keqiao, China, with the first Boulder World Cup competition on Chinese territory since Wujiang 2019.
Scheduled over three days, from 8 to 10 April, Keqiao 2024 is meant to be the first half of a double-header that will also include the World Cup Wujiang 2024, featuring Lead and Speed competitions and scheduled from 12 to 14 April.
Of the 16 climbers that have already qualified for Paris 2024 in the two Boulder & Lead event, 10 are registered to compete in Keqiao, including Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Janja Garnbret and bronze medallist Jakob Schubert of Austria.
Home favourite Zhang Yuetong, who secured her ticket to France at last year’s IFSC Asian Qualifer in Jakarta, Indonesia, will headline a big contingent of 14 Chinese athletes, including Olympian Pan Yufei, World Cup medallist Luo Zhilu, and a group of young first-time participants.
Along with the support of the home crowd, Zhang and Pan will also have the advantage of having known the walls and its profiles at the Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, which hosted Sport Climbing competitions in the very same venue: the Shaoxing Keqiao Yangshan Climbing Center.
