Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Torino (Italy): The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) has announced the IFSC Athletes’ Career Transition Programme, launching today with its first boot camp, and already confirmed for a second one. The Programme will comprise a series of interactive, virtual courses hosted by Gabriela Mueller Mendoza – a professional speaker, executive communication coach, author, and professional trainer with a Latin-Swiss style. Both active and retired athletes have been invited to participate. Courses will be free. The course will help the participants in gaining valuable experience in different areas and skills, such as self-awareness, networking and relationships, transfer of skills from sports into other fields, entrepreneurship and double professional paths, and more. “We are immensely proud to have launched the Programme,” said IFSC Research & Development Director Silvia Verdolini. “This is only one of many development projects we have been working on in the last few months, since the creation of the IFSC Research & Development Department. The Athletes’ Career Transition Programme, once again, puts our athletes at the top of our priority list. And it is fantastic to see how they have responded to the invitation, fully booking the first two boot camps in just a couple of hours.” The list of participants to the first boot camp includes Tokyo 2020 Olympians Petra Klingler of Switzerland and Alannah Yip of Canada, IFSC World Cup medallist Erik Noya Cardona of Spain, and IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup medallist Tim Schaffrina of Germany.

Sports Bulletin Report Morioka (Japan): An extremely action-packed day closed in Morioka, Iwate, Japan, where the final International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup event of the 2022 season is currently taking place.  After moving five climbers into the final round, Team Japan’s domination culminated in a triple medal. Narasaki Tomoa put the icing on the cake of a fantastic month of October, adding a World Cup gold to the three Asian Championships titles he won in Seoul, South Korea, earlier this month. “It’s been definitely a tough round, but I’m glad I have won the first-ever World Cup medal in this format,” said Narasaki. “To be honest, this morning I didn’t really feel like having two rounds on the same day, but I kept my focus and gave my best.” Scoring 84.3 points in the Boulder round, and 72.1 in the Lead one, Narasaki placed well ahead of his closest rival – Ogata Yoshiyuki – who signed the best performance on the Lead wall, but only solved one of the four Boulder problems. Ogata’s final score was 138.4. Despite being in the top position halfway through the final, thanks to a solid Boulder round where he flashed three boulders out of four, France’s Paul Jenft eventually concluded the final in fourth place, scoring 129.7 points. Yannick Flohé of Germany followed in fifth position with 128.5 points, while two more Japanese climbers – Homma Taisei and Kawamata Rei – respectively placed sixth with 117.5 points, and seventh with 109.5.

Sports Bulletin Report Morioka (Japan): The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2022 will come to a close this week as athletes compete for Boulder and Lead honours in Morioka, Iwate, Japan. In the third outing of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 format, 67 climbers from across the globe will fight it out for a chance to stand on the podium and take one of the final medals of the World Cup Series 2022. With the format first seen at the European Championships Munich 2022, and more recently at the Asian Championships in Seoul, South Korea, the climbers will accumulate points from both the Boulder and Lead disciplines to generate an overall score. Full details of the scoring can be found here. Fresh off the Boulder & Lead gold medal at the Asian Championships, Narasaki Tomoa of Japan will look to capitalise on a rich vein of form from the event in Seoul last week to push for a podium place. Joining Tomoa will be compatriot Ogata Yoshiyuki who claimed the Boulder World Cup 2022 title earlier in the year and Slovenia’s Luka Potocar who claimed the Lead series triumph. Taking the women’s Boulder & Lead title at the Asian Championships in her home country was South Korea’s Seo Chaehyun. Seo will be among the favourites with strong performances in both disciplines throughout the year. Another main contender will be USA’s Natalia Grossman. The American boasts the Boulder World Cup 2022 title and bronze from the Lead competition.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Jakarta (Indonesia):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Jakarta 2022 came to an end tonight, with the Japanese and Slovenian national anthems playing aloud at the gates of downtown. In a men’s final partially conditioned by weather conditions, Yurikusa Ao of Japan finally claimed the first World Cup gold medal of his career – adding it to the silver he won at this year’s World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria. The 20-year-old from Saitama slipped halfway through the route and finished with 29. “I am very very happy,” said Yurikusa right after the men’s final. “I can’t believe it, I just want to say thank you to my family! “I liked the route, but humidity and rain made it a bit wet, but I still gave my best and it was enough to win gold. It’s cool to see the final part of the routes being shared, I felt like to lower and middle sections of our route were the most difficult, so I invested most of my energies there.” Also representing Japan, and taking silver with 28, 30-year-old Higuchi Masahiro followed his younger teammate, placing ahead of Germany’s Sebastian Halenke – who also finished with 28, but placed third and won bronze because of a lower ranking in the semi-final round. Two more Japanese climbers finished just outside of the podium: Nishida Hidemasa placed fourth with 27+, the same score as Yoshida Satone, fifth. First-time finalist Lee Dohyun of South Korea concluded in sixth place, also with 27+, sealing the Series with his best result ever. Luka Potocar of Slovenia placed seventh with 25+, and first-time World Cup participant Raviandi Ramadhan signed off from his international debut with a fantastic eighth position, scoring 22+ and winning the warmest applause from the crowd. By finishing seventh, Potocar was also able to secure the men’s Lead World Cup 2022, overtaking Homma Taisei of Japan – 12th in Jakarta. Potocar concluded the Series with 3,860 points, followed by Homma with 3,835. Jesse Grupper of the USA finished in third place with 3,812. Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Janja Garnbret of Slovenia climbed back at the top of the Lead World Cup podium in the final event of the season, winning her fifth gold medal out of seven events in the Lead discipline. Garnbret was the only athlete able to secure the top hold – which, along with the final part of the route, was shared by male and female athletes. Germany’s Hannah Meul and South Korea’s Seo Chaehyun both had a shot at besting Garnbret, having entered the final round with a higher seed, but none managed to reach the high point. Seo won silver, concluding with 40, while Meul missed out on the podium and finished fourth with 34+. “It feels amazing to be back on the highest step of the podium, the route didn’t feel too hard, and I feel sorry for Seo, who climbed amazingly the entire weekend,” declared Garnbret. “I really liked the idea of sharing the final part of the route with the men, I believe this is the very first time it happens in a World Cup.” The bronze medal went to another Slovenian Olympian – Mia Krampl – who concluded the round with 35+, and closed with her best World Cup result of the season. Laura Rogora of Italy finished fifth with 34+, the same score as Vita Lukan of Slovenia, who ranked sixth. Japan’s Nakagawa Ryu and Tanii Natsuki respectively placed seventh with 29+, and eighth with 19+. The women’s Lead World Cup 2022 ranking had been partially decided at the end of the World Cup in Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain: Janja Garnbret finished in first place with 5,805 points – becoming the first athlete in the history of Climbing to win six Series title, one in Boulder and five in Lead. Seo followed in second position with 4,405 points, while Natalia Grossman of the USA placed third with 3,370, despite not competing in Jakarta. Medals and awards were presented by IFSC President Marco Scolaris, IFSC Secretary General Debra Gawrych, and Indonesian Climbing Federation (FPTI) President Yenny Wahid.

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.