Taking four medals out of the six totals at stake, the Japanese national team ruled the last World Cup competition before the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Climbing in front of a stunning crowd in Briançon, France, eight men and eight women battled for the fourth sets of Lead World Cup medals up for grabs this year.
In the men’s final that opened the night, Team Japan placed three of their six finalists on the podium, with Murashita Zento claiming the brightest medal with a score of 47, Yoshida Satone following in close second place with 45, and Omata Shion completing the sweep and winning bronze with 42+.
In the previous round, Murashita, Yoshida, and Omata were the three climbers who managed to top the men’s semi-final route.
“I’m very happy, this result is a bit surprising to me. I was able to climb to my limit, and climb very well,” said first-time gold medallist Murashita.
Finishing in fourth position in his first final participation was home favourite Max Bertone, who closed with the same score as Omata, 42+. Also at 42+ was Germany’s Sebastian Halenke, who took fifth place.
Three more Japanese climbers finished in the bottom three position of the final: Ishizu Mototaka concluded sixth with 41+, Tanaka Shuta followed in seventh with 39, and Imaizumi Yuta closed in eighth with 38+.
For the women’s Lead event complete results click here.
Also winning her first World Cup gold medal ever was 27-year-old Kotake Mei, who entered the stage with the fourth seed, but managed to climb higher than all her rivals, finally placing at the top of the ranking in her 25th Lead World Cup participation.
Kotake, who was coming from the bronze won at the World Cup in Chamonix, France, only a few days ago, concluded in front of Italy’s Laura Rogora – one of the few athletes qualified for Paris 2024 who competed in Briançon. Rogora won silver with 45.
“I still can’t believe I have won my first gold. It’s been a long journey for me to get on the World Cup podium. With many of the top climbers not competing, I thought it was my time to win, and I’m happy I made it,” an emotional Kotake said moments before the podium.
Third place went to Austria’s Mattea Pötzi, who finally claimed her first-ever World Cup medal in her third consecutive Lead final round.
For the women’s Lead event complete results click here.
The IFSC World Cup Series 2024 will return in September with events in Koper, Slovenia, from 6 to 7; and Prague, Czechia, from 20 to 22.
News and updates about all IFSC 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.
