Gripped Magazine
Climbing World Championships Start with Olympians in the Lead
The IFSC Climbing World Championships have started in Seoul, South Korea, with the Lead qualification. Olympic gold medalists Janja Garnbret and Alberto Ginés López are were in first heading to semi-finals. Garnbret and Ginés López were the only climbers to top both of the qualification routes. The only other climber to top a route in the women’s category was Erin McNeice who progressed to the semi-final in second. In third for women was another climber on good 2025 form – USA’s Annie Sanders.
There were more tops in the men’s qualification round with seven climbers registering the score. Ginés López had two for first with the other six successful on just one. In joint-second, Suzuki Neo and Yoshida Satone led six Japanese climbers into the semi-final, with Anraku Sorato another making a top and securing a semi-final spot. Full women’s scores here, and men’s here.
The first climber out in the men’s competition was Canada’s Victor Baudrand. Finishing in 52nd out of the 75 starters, Baudrand enjoyed his experience in Seoul: “I was the first one out and I was pretty nervous. I was on route two and I saw those holds and thought you need good conditions and good friction and in the morning it was fresh, and no one had climbed it before so they felt sticky, and I think that helped me get a little higher than I would have expected to do.”
Speaking about his qualification round in general Baudrand: “You always finish a round thinking you could have done more, but in general I’m taking the positives and moving on and taking it into the next comp. Overall it was a great experience, and also the venue and crowd were great, so it was easy to feel comfortable.”
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