Slovenia’s Jennifer Eucharia Buckley became a double 2024 Youth Worlds champion after taking the U18 Boulder title in Guiyang, China with Japan’s Nagamori Hareru adding yet another piece of silverware to his nations tally.

With a certain Janja Garnbret seemingly monopolising the top step of a climbing podium, her country mate Buckley also dominated the competition with four tops in the final to add the Boulder title to the Lead title she won just a few days ago.

Buckley has stood on an IFSC World Cup podium in 2024 when she won a silver medal, behind Garnbret, in Innsbruck, Austria and she has taken that experience into the 2024 Youth Worlds.

After her win Buckley said: “I feel great. I achieved what my main goal of the year was. I think in the World Cup’s I went for a different reason; it was more of an experience and learning, but here I came with a mission and a goal, and I’m really content I could make it come true.”

Japan’s Murakoshi Kaho took silver to make it a full set of Youth Worlds medals after taking gold in Seoul, South Korea in 2023 and bronze in Dallas, USA in 2022. Murakoshi made two tops and four zones for her second-place finish.

Completing the podium was Spain’s Geila Macià Martín who took her second bronze of the event after also taking the same colour in the Lead. Macià Martín made one top and four zones.

Japan’s Oda Natsumi was in fourth also making one top but only three zones. Great Britain’s Lucy Garlick was fifth and Israel’s Tamar Cohen was sixth.

In the men’s competition Nagamori topped three boulders and made the zone in all four for his gold medal, and enjoyed himself in the process.

Nagamori said: “I got the top on the first boulder, and I was feeling great, so I threw a kiss to the crowd. I got another top on boulder four but I was too focussed at that stage and I was just thinking about the climbing, I didn’t have any headspace to throw another kiss.”  

The Japanese climber hasn’t been working on Boulder as much, but nevertheless it didn’t show: “I have been focussing more on Lead climbing for this competition so to win the Boulder title is a bit of a shock for me. But I’m happy, just so happy.”

South Korea’s Park Beomjin was in silver medal position with two tops and four zones and was ahead of bronze medallist Corentin Laporte of Belgium.

Laporte had one top on boulder four and won his medal by just one attempt better than Thailand’s Auswin Aueareechit who also scored one top and three zones. Aueareechit’s top came on boulder one.

Fifth place was China’s Hu Junzhe and Japan’s Hommyo Kei was in sixth.

The U18 Speed competition will take place tomorrow with the medals handed out as well as the qualification for the U20 Boulder competition.

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