Sorato Anraku Wins Second Boulder World Cup in a Row

Sorato Anraku has just won gold at the second Boulder World Cup of 2026, held in Bern, Switzerland. He also took first place at the opening World Cup event in Keqiao, China. It is the 19-year-old’s seventh Boulder World Cup gold. In his 2023 rookie season, he took the series by storm, placing first overall after the season’s six events. He was just 16 years old at the time. After also winning the series in 2024, he took the overall boulder title yet again in 2025. He’s off to a perfect start in 2026.

Anraku was the only climber to top all four problems in Bern. He flashed the first problem and took two attempts to gain zone and top for the other three. French climber Mejdi Schalck topped the first three problems but only received zone for the fourth. If he would have topped the fourth, Anraku still would have won gold due to taking fewer attempts to top overall.

It was a fight for bronze between Belgium’s Hannes Van Duysen and Japan’s Sohta Amagasa – both topped two of the four problems, but Duysen did so in fewer attempts, earning his spot on the podium.

“It was a hard round,” said Anraku after the comp. “I’m just happy every time I can show my climbing and take a victory. The crowd here was amazing. I take my power from them.”

Tomoa Narasaki, who, like Anraku, has won seven Boulder World Cups, competed in the event but placed 15th overall. Dohyun Lee earned silver in the first event of the season in Keqiao, but finished 18th in Bern. A couple of familiar faces were missing from this comp, including Toby Roberts and Meichi Narasaki.

The next World Cup event will be next weekend in Alcobendas, Comunidad de Madrid, from May 28 to 31. Climbers will compete in Boulder and Speed. Anraku, Schalck, Roberts, Tomoa, and Meichi, among others, are registered to compete.

Final results

  1. Sorato Anraku (JPN) – 99.7
  2. Mejdi Schalck (FRA) – 84.3
  3. Hannes Van Duysen (BEL) – 69.2
  4. Sohta Amagasa (JPN) – 68.4
  5. Adi Bark (ISR) – 38.8
  6. Maximillian Milne (GBR) 29.6
  7. Paul Jenft (FRA) – 29.4
  8. Colin Duffy (USA) – 29.4

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