Five days of top-class climbing ended at the legendary Kletterzentrum in Innsbruck, Austria, in front of the fourth consecutive 3,000-people sold-out crowd, as Austria’s Jakob Schubert and Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret updated their impressive medal tally.

Opening the show was home favourite Schubert, who climbed last in the men’s Lead final, and despite not clipping the highest quickdraw, still finished with a best score of 49+ and claimed his 21st World Cup gold in the Lead discipline.

Schubert said: “Climbing here at home is always different, it’s always special, and this route today was exceptionally special because it was such a crazy fight from halfway up. Every move I felt like I was going to fall. I might have not been the best climber on the route tonight, but I was the best fighter, and that’s what brought me to victory. And it was also only possible because of the crowd.

“I’m always really focused and don’t hear too much while I climb, I would say. I wouldn’t recognise which song was playing, but it was crazy loud when I made that move and I immediately knew that that was probably the victory. From there I felt like I could almost enjoy it… I mean, not really, because I was way too pumped.”

Completing the podium were experienced climber Alexander Megos of Germany, second at 42+, and Toby Roberts of Great Britain, third with 41+.

USA’s Colin Duffy – who won gold in both Boulder and Lead in Innsbruck two years ago – took fourth position. Three Japanese climbers – Tanaka Shuta, Homma Taisei, and Narasaki Tomoa – respectively concluded in fifth, sixth, and eighth place. First-time final participant Jonas Utelli of Switzerland took seventh place.

For the men’s Lead final complete results click here.

As the rain kept falling on the Kletterzentrum, the women’s Lead final started off the wrong foot, as four of the first six athletes on the wall all fell on the same dynamic move and scored 22+.

The two final climbers taking the wall, however, were worth the wait.

First, it was Japan’s Mori Ai, who spent quite some time on the crucial section, but once she surpassed it, she cruised towards the top and secured the last quickdraw with more than 15 seconds left on the clock, putting all the pressure in the world on her rival Janja Garnbret’s shoulders.

Two days after winning Boulder gold in the very same venue, the Slovenian 25-year-old put on a show for most part of her climb, but ended up struggling to read one of the last moves and spent more than one minute trying to find the way to unlock it. Eventually, the Tokyo 2020 champion managed to survive the move, and sealed the top score with only three second left.

“Every single win means a lot to me, because I’m always with my feet on the ground, I don’t take things for granted, I’m always focused and determined to win, the feeling is incredible every single time,” commented Garnbret.

“This was my last World Cup before the Olympics. I will go home and take some time to rest, and then train until Paris 2024!”

Thanks to a better placement in the semi-final round, Garnbret won gold – making it now 28 in total in Lead World Cup competitions – while Mori had to settle for silver.

The podium was completed by Seo Chaehyun of South Korea with 36. Austria’s Jessica Pilz, Bulgaria’s Alexandra Totkova, USA’s Annie Sanders, and Austria’s Mattea Pôtzi, took positions from fourth to seventh with 22+, mirroring the order they were ranked at the end of the semi-final. China’s Zhang Yuetong closed in eighth place with 21+.

For the women’s Lead final complete results click here.

The IFSC World Cup Series 2024 will continue in Chamonix, France, with Lead and Speed competitions taking place from 12 to 14 July. The last World Cup event before the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will then take place in Briançon, France, from 17 to 19 July.

News and updates about the 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.