A fantastic atmosphere welcomed the six finalists of the men’s Boulder event on the stage of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Prague 2023.
Climbing in front of around five-thousand enthusiastic fans, South Korea’s 20-year-old Lee Dohyun managed to solve all four problems in the round, flashing three of them. Also finishing with four tops was the crowd’s favourite, Adam Ondra of the Czech Republic, who eventually placed behind Lee because of a higher number of attempts to top.
The key to the Korean climber’s victory turned out to be M3, on the slab section of the wall – a problem that only Lee and Ondra managed to top, with Lee sending it at the first try, and Ondra needing three attempts.
“I can’t believe it, I’m just so happy”, said an emotional Lee just before the medal ceremony. “Thank you all for the support,” he then concluded, turning towards the crowd.
“It’s been so nice to be back on the circuit, especially in my home country. It’s been 13 years since the last World Cup event in Czechia, and the only one I participated in was in my hometown of Brno, when I was 16 and I barely missed the final, it was so frustrating, so this is a good revenge!” said Ondra.
It is Lee’s first-ever World Cup medal, and Ondra’s 15th World Cup podium in the Boulder discipline.
Completing the medal positions in third place was the winner of the first two Boulder competitions of the season – France’s Mejdi Schalck – who pocketed the bronze medal with three tops and four zones, only failing to solve M3.
Ogata Yoshiyuki of Japan, Yannick Flohé of Germany, and first-time finalist Jan-Luca Posch of Austria respectively concluded in fourth, fifth, and sixth place.
For the complete results of the men’s Boulder event click here
The IFSC World Cup Prague 2023 will conclude tomorrow with the women’s Boulder semi-final and final, respectively scheduled at 12:00 (UTC+2:00) and 19:00. Both rounds will be live streamed on the IFSC YouTube channel , with geographic restriction applied. For more information about where to watch the IFSC World Cup Series 2023 please click here
News and updates about the IFSC event are available on the IFSC website , and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn , and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin and Weibo
The podium of the men's Boulder event in Prague, Czech RepublicPhoto: Jan Virt/IFSC