The 2017 Lead World Cup Finishes in Kranj

The 2017 sport climbing season concluded in Kranj, Slovenia, hosting the 8th IFSC Lead World Cup. The finals were a riveting show of Lead climbing and decided the last podiums of the season.

Lead Finals Female/Male
1. Janja Garnbret / Jakob Schubert
2. Jain Kim / Alex Megos
3. Molly Smith-Thompson / Dmitrii Fakirianov

Congratulations to the Combined and Lead #IFSCwc season champions and all the medalists at Kranj! Results and recap at the link in our bio ? @thecircuitclimbing

A post shared by IFSC (@ifsclimbing) on Nov 12, 2017 at 3:08pm PST

After clinching the Combined and Lead season titles in China last month, Janja Garnbret concluded her historic season in thrilling fashion.

The 18-year-old from Slovenia was the last athlete to climb in finals and maintained her composure in front of her home crowd, surpassing the high point of Jain Kim (KOR) and falling at the very top of the route.

She is the first athlete to win nine IFSC World Cup events in a single season, and her 1,135 points in the Combined this year is also the most ever accumulated in a single season. Kim finished in second place in the Lead season rankings, followed by Anak Verhoeven (BEL).

Jakob Schubert was also on point all weekend long, staying at the top of the results every round. The two-time Lead season champion and three-time Combined season champion won his 18th IFSC World Cup on Sunday with the only top in finals.

Alexander Megos (GER) fell at the last move to place second in Kranj, and Dmitrii Fakirianov (RUS) earned the bronze medal at his first IFSC World Cup of 2017.

Semi-finals on Saturday decided the winners in the Combined and Lead season rankings for the men. Romain Desgranges just missed the finals cut, but his 9th place clinched the season victory in Lead.

Decisive crux sections on both the men and women's Lead semi-final routes at #IFSCwc Kranj. @janja_garnbret and @jakob.schubert are still leading the way! Finals Sunday at 17:00 GMT+1 ? @thecircuitclimbing

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The French star won the most IFSC Lead World Cup events this season among male athletes (3). Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA) finished in second place in the Lead season rankings, followed by Keiichiro Korenaga (JPN).

Bouldering season champion Jongwon Chon (KOR) and runner-up Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) soared in the Combined season rankings last month in China.

With a small edge heading into the weekend, Narasaki stayed close enough to Chon in semi-finals to win the Combined season title by 7 points. Kokoro Fujii (JPN) also competed in Kranj and rounded out the podium.

Athletes from Slovenia, France and Japan climbed well all season long in Lead. Slovenia defended their spot atop the Team rankings by excelling at the final event in Kranj, sending four athletes to finals, the first for Vita Lukan.

France placed second, led by Desgranges and Julia Chanourdie, and Japan – winner of the Bouldering title – finished in third place in Lead.

Great Britain also performed well in Kranj. Molly Thompson-Smith won the team’s first medal in Lead, and Bouldering season champion Shauna Coxsey qualified for finals in her first IFSC Lead World Cup, placing third in the Combined season rankings behind Kim.

Click to watch Coxsey below.

Competition climbing is a frustrating game. I am totally psyched to make it through to the finals here in Kranj at my first Lead World Cup and finish up in 6th place but I can’t help but feel disappointed. A foot slip left me standing under the climb confused and disgruntled. I had more to give. I really wanted to push to my max on this route, get pumped out of my mind and fight but I didn’t get the chance. Admittedly this just makes me hungry for more. I can’t believe the world cups are over! Thanks so much to everyone who made this an experience to remember and to everyone who sent me messages and cheered me on! I really didn’t think I’d enjoy being back on a rope this much! ❤️ . . Huge congratulation to @mollyts123 ??? for taking the bronze medal! And of course to the incredible @janja_garnbret ?for another insane performance. . #ifscwc #climbing #kranj

A post shared by SHAUNA COXSEY (@shaunacoxsey) on Nov 12, 2017 at 11:03am PST