Just 109 days before the start of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the IFSC World Cup Series 2024 are kicking off in Keqiao, China, with the first Boulder World Cup competition on Chinese territory since Wujiang 2019.

Scheduled over three days – from 8 to 10 April – Keqiao 2024 is meant to be the first half of a double-header that will also include the World Cup Wujiang 2024, featuring Lead and Speed competitions and scheduled from 12 to 14 April.

Of the 16 climbers that have already qualified for Paris 2024 in the two Boulder & Lead event, 10 are registered to compete in Keqiao, including Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Janja Garnbret and bronze medallist Jakob Schubert of Austria.

Home favourite Zhang Yuetong, who secured her ticket to France at last year’s IFSC Asian Qualifer in Jakarta, Indonesia, will headline a big contingent of 14 Chinese athletes, including Tokyo 2020 participant Pan Yufei, World Cup medallist Luo Zhilu, and a group of young first-time participants.

Along with the support of the home crowd, Zhang and Pan will also have the advantage of having known the walls and its profiles at the Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, which hosted Sport Climbing competitions in the very same venue: the Shaoxing Keqiao Yangshan Climbing Center.

Held in October 2023, the multi-sport event saw Zhang and Pan claim bronze in the women’s and men’s Boulder & Lead events, respectively.

Picking up from a dominant campaign in 2023, when he became the first climber in history to claim both the Boulder and Lead World Cup trophies in the same season, Anraku Sorato of Japan is going to be the clear favourite in the men’s field.

Tokyo 2020 champion Alberto Ginés López of Spain, future Olympian Toby Roberts of Great Britain, and World Cup gold medallist Mejdi Schalck of France will also be in the mix for the first podium of the season.

The group of Paris 2024 qualified athletes will also include Australia's Oceania Mackenzie and Campbell Harrison, Japan's Narasaki Tomoa, and USA's Colin Duffy.

The schedule of the event is as follows:

Monday, 8 April:
9:00 – Women’s Boulder qualification
16:00 – Men’s Boulder qualification

Tuesday, 9 April:
12:00 – Women’s Boulder semi-final
19:00 – Women’s Boulder final

Wednesday, 10 April:
12:00 – Men’s Boulder semi-final
19:00 – Men’s Boulder final

Semi-final and final rounds will be live streamed on the IFSC YouTube channel. Geo restrictions will be applied on selected countries and territories.

News and updates about the two World Cup events will be available on the brand-new IFSC website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin and Weibo.