The IFSC Youth World Championships Guiyang 2024 came to a close today as China and Japan added even more gold to an already impressive haul.

In the U16 Boulder competitions – the last of the event - China’s Li Meini took gold in the women’s and Japan’s Hamada Ryusei took gold in the men’s. Those medals helped take host China’s medal total to a whooping 16 and Japan’s to 14.

Li finished fourth in the Lead competition earlier in the week and finally got her place on the podium in her home country by taking the Boulder title. Two tops was enough for Li in a tough final round.

Speaking of her win Li said: “I am so excited as it’s my first time at a World Championships and the feeling is incredible. After Lead I feel climbed semi-finals so bad, and I had to change my emotions to get better in the Boulder.

“The feeling of being at home made me more relaxed and enjoy the competition, and the crowd was incredible all the way through.”

There was only one other top in the round and that was by South Korea’s Kim Gyurin who secured silver with that score.

The final spot on the podium was taken by Japan’s Murakami Waka who reached the zone in three of the four boulders for bronze.

Just missing out again was Ukraine’s Rafael Kazbekova in fourth ahead of France’s Lou Auclair in fifth and USA’s Selene Nicol in sixth.

The final for the men was an all-Asian affair with three climbers from Japan, two from South Korea and one from China.

It was Hamada who stepped up from the six to take gold with three tops, although that wasn’t enough for the young climber: “I’m so happy for the gold, but I didn’t climb well on the first route, and I was disappointed not to make tops on all the boulders. My goal was four tops for the final, but maybe that will have to be for next year now.”

In silver medal position was South Korea’s Jung Chanjin who swopped places with Hamada from the Lead competition when he took gold and Hamada silver. Jung topped two boulders for second place.

Hamada was joined by teammate Nakata Kazuki who also topped two boulders and put the final touches on a strong Team Japan performance at the 2024 Youth Worlds.

South Korea’s Park Taesung topped a boulder for fourth, China’s Zhu Yufan was fifth and Japan’s Saiki Taketo was sixth.

Guiyang, China now passes the baton to Helsinki, Finland who will host the 2025 IFSC Youth World Championships next year.

Full results for the Youth Worlds can be found here - https://ifsc.hopp.to/YW24results