The fourth Boulder competition of the IFSC World Cup Series 2024 started this morning in Prague, Czechia, where 160 total athletes battled against a field of boulders set up by IFSC Head Routesetters Sergio Verdasco of Spain, Routesetters Maelys Agrapart of France, and Manuel Hassler of Switzerland, along with a group of national routesetters.

MEN’S BOULDER

The men’s qualification pack of climbers was split into two groups, A and B: Anraku Sorato of Japan and Sam Avezou of France took first place with four tops and five zones each.

Two teenagers followed in third place: 19-year-old Toby Roberts of Great Britain, and 18-year-old Kayotani Ritsu of Japan, while experienced climbers Adam Ondra of Czechia and Narasaki Tomoa of Japan placed third in their group and fifth overall.

“I think the boulders in my group were more physical, which is good for me. I was nervous going into isolation because I remembered that last year in Prague there were some tricky boulders in the qualification round, and I did not do well.

“I am not feeling a lot of pressure, I hope I will send some hard boulders tomorrow,” said Chon Jongwon of South Korea, who placed fourth in group A and seventh overall with four tops and four zones.

For the men’s Boulder qualification complete results click here.

WOMEN’S BOULDER

Later this afternoon, 61 women divided in two groups took the stage and faced two brand new sets of boulders.

Paris 2024 Olympians Erin McNeice of Great Britain and Natalia Grossman of the USA took joint first place in the overall ranking, both closing with the perfect score of five tops and five zones, and both flashing three of their problems.

Three nations moved three climbers into Sunday’s semi-final round: France, Germany, and Japan.

“It is my last World Cup event this season, so I wanted a good qualification round. I found the boulders a bit hard, but I also believe I did not have the right beta for all of them. However, I am happy with my climbing,” said France’s Selma Elhadj Mimoune.

“On the most physical boulders, I had some issues with my heel-hook, then on another one my foot slipped. They were tricky, but they were good! My goal here is first to make it to the semi-final, then to try hard and enjoy the competition.”

Climbing on home turf, Michaela Smetanova of Czechia did not make it into the top 20. She said: “It was great to compete in front of my home crowd, a completely different feeling compared. Boulders are usually tough for me, as I am more of a Lead climber, but with them cheering me on I had extra motivation to try hard.

The round could have been better for me. I was close to the top two of the boulders, but I did not do it in time. It could have been better, but I am satisfied!”

For the women’s Boulder qualification complete results click here.

NEXT UP

The IFSC World Cup Prague 2024 will reprise tomorrow with the men’s Boulder semi-final, starting at 12:00 (UTC+2:00), while the final is scheduled at 18:30. Both rounds will be live streamed on the IFSC YouTube channel, with geographical restrictions applied.

News and updates about all IFSC events will be available on the IFSC website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin and Weibo.