A Podium Sweep for Team Japan at Men’s Boulder World Cup

Yesterday’s women’s Boulder World Cup ended in a predictable fashion – Janja Garnbret dominated the rounds, earning yet another gold medal. Today’s men’s Boulder World Cup was a little more exciting. The first surprise of the comp was Jakob Schubert missing the semi-finals and then Tomoa Naraksaki and Colin Duffy not making it through to the finals. Heading into the finals, a seemingly safe bet for gold would have been the young phenom from Japan Soratu Anraku or Great Britain’s Toby Roberts, arguably the most exciting climber on the comp scene.

The first problem of men’s Boulder final was tricky, but five of the six finalists managed to top it. Anraku impressively pulled off a flash. His teammates Sohta Amagasa and Meich Narasaki – Tomoa’s little brother – topped the problem in two and three attempts respectively. Roberts also topped in three attempts.

The second problem of the night was the exact opposite. Wickedly crimpy and powerful, most climbers couldn’t get past the first few moves. Anraku and Roberts had good success, but both were unable to secure zone. The problem was a complete shut-out for all climbers, meaning the competition would be decided on just three problems.

Problem #3 was the slab. Anraku and Roberts flashed it. Amagasa topped on his second attempt, Narasaki on his third. Moving into the fourth round, Anraku, Roberts, Amagasa, and Narasaki were tied in tops. The final problem was going to decide podium placements.

Amagasa, having the performance of his career, ended up topping the wildly dynamic and fun problem #4. Narasaki pulled off a top as well. This left Amagasa in first and Narasaki in second, each with three tops. Roberts could secure that first place spot if he could top in a few go’s. He was unable to stick the huge coordination dyno at the start of the problem though, not even reaching zone.

Anraku came out last and it’s likely that most viewers thought the comp was his. He easily made it through the starting dyno, but surprisingly, he was unable to execute the shouldery mantle to the top. He tried again and again, experimenting with different betas, but nothing stuck. He ended the round with a zone for problem #4.

With the result, 24-year-old Amagasa had won the 2024 Innsbruck Boulder World Cup. The victory was his first-ever World Cup gold and his first time on a World Cup podium. His previous best result was a fourth place finish at the Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City in May this year.

“I can’t believe it, it feels like a dream!” said Amagasa after his win. “My performance today was very good, almost perfect. Now I will skip Lead and focus on the event in Prague. Arigato!”

Narasaki earned silver, tying Amagasa in tops but with more attempts. He also won silver at the Salt Lake City Boulder World Cup last month. It was his fourth time earning a silver medal in World Cup competition. Anraku, with two tops and one zone, earned bronze. The event marks the third time in history that there has been a Team Japan sweep of the men’s Boulder podium.

Unlike Amagasa and Narasaki, Anraku will be competing in the Paris Olympics. This year is his second season on the World Cup circuit. It’s hard to remember a rookie season as incredible as the one he had in 2023. He made the finals at every Lead World Cup event, earning sixth in Villars, fourth in Innsbruck, bronze in Chamonix, and gold in Briançon, Koper, and Wujiang. He also won silver at the Lead World Championships. In the Boulder World Cup, he won silver in Salt Lake City and gold in Innsbruck. All of this success resulted in him being overall champion for both Boulder and Lead. He ended 2023 by winning a Paris Olympic ticket at the Asian Qualifier in Jakarta.

Anraku’s 2023 success is continuing into 2024. He’s now had three solid performances in the first four World Cups of the year. He won silver at the Boulder World Cup in Keqiao, bronze at the Lead World Cup in Wujiang, gold at the Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City, and now bronze at this Boulder World Cup in Innsbruck. His ability to perform well in both Boulder and Lead undoubtably makes him one of the favourites to win the Olympics this summer.

There were many Paris Olympian upsets in the men’s Boulder World Cup in Innsbruck. Austria’s Jakob Schubert and Australia’s Campbell Harrison didn’t make it past the qualification round, placing 21st and 47th respectively. In the semi-finals, Tomoa Narasaki of Japan placed eighth and Team USA member Colin Duffy placed 14th, both missing out on their chance to compete in the finals. In today’s finals, a Paris Olympians Anraku placed third, and Roberts placed fourth, leaving gold and silver for non-Olympians.

With the women’s and men’s Boulder World Cups wrapped up in Innsbruck, the event now moves onto the Lead comp. The women and men’s Lead semi-finals will be held tomorrow, Saturday June 29. The Lead finals will then take place the following day on Sunday. See below for the full schedule.

Final Results

1. Sohta Amagasa [JPN] (3T3z 8 7)
2. Meichi Narasaki [JPN] (3T3z 11 7)
3. Sorato Anraku [JPN] (2T3z 2 3)
4. Toby Roberts [GBR] (2T2z 4 4)
5. Elias Arriagada Krüger [GER] (1T3z 8 11)
6. Ritsu Kayotani [JPN] (0T3z 0 24)

Men’s Boulder Final at Innsbruck World Cup

Innsbruck World Cup Livestream Schedule

Women and Men’s Lead semi-finals – Saturday June 29 – 1:40pm ET (10:40am PT)
Women and Men’s Lead finals – Sunday June 30 – 1:40pm ET (10:40am PT)