The second edition of the NEOM Beach Games is about to conclude in Saudi Arabia, where some of the best climbers in the Boulder and Speed disciplines have gathered to compete in the NEOM IFSC Masters 2023 – the fifth and conclusive part of a multi-sport festival that also included basketball 3x3, beach soccer, mountain bike, and triathlon, spanning over a period of five weeks: from 21 October to 24 November.
Competing from 22 to 24 November, a total of 60 athletes from 16 different countries will participate in the event.
Japan’s 16-year-old Sorato Anraku, winner of the men’s Boulder World Cup title in 2023, secured a ticket to Paris 2024 at the IFSC Asian Qualifier in Jakarta, Indonesia only a couple of weeks ago, and, among others, will line up against France’s three-time World Cup gold medallist Mejdi Schalck, and former Boulder World Cup title holder Yoshiyuki Ogata – also representing Japan.
In the women’s Boulder event, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Petra Klingler of Switzerland, 2021 World Championships silver medallist Camilla Moroni of Italy, and experienced Ukrainian climber Ievgeniia Kazbekova will headline the list of athletes battling for the brightest medal.
Fresh off their successes at the Pan American Games Santiago 2023, where they both secured a spot at the Paris Olympic, USA’s Piper Kelly and Samuel Watson will be among the top contenders in the Speed events. Kelly and Watson, however, will not be the only future Olympians competing in Speed.
Indeed, current world champions in the men’s and women’s Speed events – Matteo Zurloni of Italy and Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi of Indonesia – will also be in the mix, with the Indonesian contingent including Rahmad Adi Mulyono, winner of the Asian Qualifier in Jakarta.
The competition will commence on Wednesday, 22 November with the men’s Boulder semi-final and final – respectively scheduled at 15:00 (UTC+3:00) and 19:30. The women’s Boulder event will follow on Thursday 23, while Speed qualifications and finals will close the show on Friday 24. The full schedule of the event is available on the IFSC event page
The NEOM IFSC Masters will be live streamed on the IFSC YouTube channel , on Eurosport and Discovery Plus. News and updates about the all IFSC events will be available on the IFSC website , and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook , Instagram , X , LinkedIn , and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin and Weibo
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