Climbing - Int News - Sport bulletin

Climbing - Int News

CLIMBING - Int News 21 Aug, 2024

GUIYANG, CHINA WELCOMES CLIMBERS FOR YOUTH WORLDS 2024

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.”

CLIMBING - Int News 10 Aug, 2024

Garnbret survives injury scare for second Olympic Gold

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."

CLIMBING - Int News 09 Aug, 2024

HISTORY MAKER LEONARDO WINS INDONESIA’S FIRST PARIS 2024 GOLD

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

CLIMBING - Int News 29 Jun, 2024

Japan players sweep Boulder Podium with Amagasa, Narasaki, Anraku

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.

CLIMBING - Int News 22 Jun, 2024

YOUTH ATHLETES TEST PARIS 2024 CLIMBING WALLS

Sports Bulletin ReportParis (France): Paris 2024 excitement is gathering pace as thirty-four young climbers from the host nation France compete at a Test Event this weekend as part of the preparation ahead of the summer showpiece.Although there will be no spectators and only a simulation and operational test of the newly built competition venue, the youth athletes will be the first to compete on the Boulder, Lead, and Speed walls at the Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis. The two days of competition serves as an opportunity to test and simulate Games time protocols and procedures from an operational perspective to ensure the venue readiness and has many key operational staff in attendance.From the field of play to technology, route setting to volunteers, all aspects of Climbing’s second Olympic appearance will be tested by the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee with the support of IFSC Vice-President Kobinata Toru and IFSC Paris 2024 Delegate Hazel Han. Among the officials in attendance integral to the Paris 2024 competition are Event Delegate Stanley Yeo, Jury President Tim Hatch and Head route setters Garrett Gregor and Martin Hammerer.Also in attendance will be French climber Oriane Bertone who has already secured her ticket to her home Games via the IFSC European Qualifier in Laval, France last year. Bertone attends on the invitation of the IOC as part of their “La Tournée des Sites” initiative to talk to invited dignitaries and will help promote the inspiration and legacy of the Games for the young competing athletes.IFSC Vice-President Kobinata said: “A Test Event is a vital part of the Olympic Games process. Our field of play and warm up areas were finished only a short time ago, and they look fantastic – a venue worthy of a world class event. Now it is time for some eager young athletes to help us check that everything is in place for August when the eyes of the world will be upon us. It is a great test of our venue and operations, but I am confident with the team we have everything will be successful.”

CLIMBING - Int News 13 Jun, 2024

LA28 PROPOSES PARA CLIMBING FOR PARALYMPIC SPORTS PROGRAM

Sports Bulletin ReportTorino (Italy): The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games proposed to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to add Para Climbing to the 2028 Paralympic Sports Program. With this proposal, LA28 becomes the first organizing committee in Games history to propose additional sports for both the Olympic and Paralympic Sports Programs. “LA28 is proud to propose adding Para Climbing to the Paralympic Sport Program, and to be the first organizing committee in history to propose a new sport for the Paralympic Games,” said LA28 Chief Athlete Officer Janet Evans. “We would like to thank the International Paralympic Committee for giving us the opportunity to add this exciting sport in 2028. We see this as a unique chance to give more athletes the ability to compete on the world’s biggest stage, while creating an expansive and elite adaptive sport program that exemplifies LA28’s commitment to elevating the Paralympic Movement.” “We are very excited about the announcement of LA28 and thank them for their proposal of the addition of Para Climbing to the Paralympic Sport Programme: it’s a wonderful recognition of the value of our great athletes – says Marco Scolaris, IFSC President. “We must wait now for the International Paralympic Committee’s Governing Board to vote on the proposal on June 26. When we were notified by the Los Angeles Organizing Committee, my first thought was for our athletes and their chance to show the world what they can do. My next was to some of our crazy visionaries who first believed in the magic of Para Climbing, together with us. I am talking about pioneers like the former Presidents of the Italian and French Federations, Ariano Amici and Pierre You. We all took our first ‘crazy’ step together in 2011 with Para Climbing’s debut at our World Championship and we hope that the next step will be the IPC confirmation.”

CLIMBING - Int News 20 May, 2024

CHINA, INDONESIA SPLIT SPEED GLORY IN SHANGHAI

Sports Bulletin ReportShanghai (China): A trophy in their hands, and 50 points in their pockets: China’s Zhou Yafei and Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo are the winners of the Speed events in Shanghai, China.Zhou and Leonardo were the fastest and most consistent athletes on the wall, peaking at the right time and setting new personal bests in the two gold medal races: Zhou prevailed over Indonesia’s Rajiah Sallsabillah, stopping the clock at 6.54 seconds, against her rival’s 6.75. Leonardo, instead, won against home favourite Wu Peng of China, hitting the finish pad at 4.83 seconds – four tenths of a second away from the current world record. Wu placed second with 4.88.“I just performed like myself. I performed the way I do normally,” said Zhou. “I tried to focus on every single climb, on every single run I had to do today. I did feel nervous, but I tried to block out the noise that came from the spectators. I felt I just had to focus on myself. I just thought about the action, about the things I had to do.Then adding: “This was not the best level, because some athletes were not here. It felt like the second level. The level could be even higher."Leonardo said: “I am happy. I have to qualify, so this is the first step. In Speed, even though you did well in practice, it doesn’t guarantee you a good result in competition. I am competing among the best competitors and the best athletes in the world. The more good athletes there are in Speed Climbing, the better it is for the sport. I only focus on myself and my performance. I have a very good relationship with the rest of the Indonesian team. We are like family. We train together. In this competition each of us tries to do our best and it’s our responsibility to bring the country’s name to the world level. Competing against each other is not a problem.”Bronze in the women’s event went to Natalia Kalucka of Poland, who bested Niu Di of China with a 6.67-second performance. The men’s Speed podium was completed by Wang Xinshang of China, winner in 4.99 seconds of a tight race against Ukraine’s Yaroslav Tkach.

CLIMBING - Int News 05 May, 2024

SALT LAKE CITY AWARDS WORLD CUP GOLDS TO ANRAKU, HUNT, WATSON

Sports Bulletin ReportSalt Lake City (USA): An action-packed competition day in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, concluded with three gold medallists awarded inside the USA Climbing Training Center – Anraku Sorato of Japan in the men’s Boulder event, Emma Hunt of the USA in the women’s Speed event, and Samuel Watson, also of the USA, in the men’s Speed event.The first medal went to Japanese rising star Anraku, who dominated the Boulder final and stepped on the highest section of the podium for the fifth time in his young career – the second one in the discipline. Anraku took the lead right out of the gate, topping M1 in his second attempt and only missing the solution of the following M2, which none of his opponents managed to top either.Two more Japanese climbers competed in the final round, with Narasaki Meichi eventually landing next to Anraku on the podium, in silver medal position. The younger brother of Tomoa concluded his final with only one top in total – on M3 – but thanks to the fact that he flashed it, he was able to place ahead of Austria’s Jakob Schubert – third – and Japan’s Amagasa Sohta – fourth.All three climbers finished with one top and four zones, with attempts-to-top breaking the tie between Narasaki and Schubert, and attempts-to-zone doing the same between Schubert and Amagasa. The second Austrian climber participating in the final, Jan-Luca Posch, followed in fifth place, while Germany’s Yannick Flohé placed sixth. The night closed with Team USA pocketing two Speed World Cup golds with Emma Hunt and Samuel Watson.

CLIMBING - Int News 05 May, 2024

Pakistani cimber Naila Summits Makalu to set historic milestone

Sports Bulletin ReportISLAMABAD: After a challenging climb through the night, Naila has achieved another historic milestone by successfully summiting Makalu, the 5th highest peak in the world at 8,485 meters, today (May 5) at approximately 9:35 am Nepal local time (8:50 am Pakistan time). This remarkable feat also makes her the first Pakistani woman to have summited this incredibly difficult mountain.Naila is grateful for all the prayers and wishes, and she gives special thanks to everyone. She also thanks Sherpa Gelgen Dai from Imagine Nepal, who has supported Naila every step of the way, making this achievement possible.This latest success highlights her exceptional endurance and determination. She now holds the record as the fastest Pakistani, both male and female, to have summited 11 of the 8,000-meter peaks, accomplished in under 3 years.

CLIMBING - Int News 06 Apr, 2024

Route to Paris Stops in Keqiao for Opening World Cup

Sports Bulletin ReportKeqiao (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.