IFSC 2016 World Cup: Canadians Ready for Bouldering Finale in Munich

Munich has concluded five IFSC Bouldering World Cup series since 2010. In 2014, the third most populous city in Germany attracted more than 6,000 Sport Climbing fans to the grand Olympic Stadium – host of the 1972 Summer Olympics –for the IFSC Bouldering World Championships. This year, the tradition continues with a new cast of elite Bouldering talent. The topic of conversation will surely be climbing in the 2020 Olympics.

There are a number of Canadians making the trip to Germany for the competition, including Alannah Yip, Elan Jonas McRae, Allison Vest, Nathan Smith, Kistina Jellema, Andre Difelice, Alison Stewart-Patterson, Tristen Gosselin and Ayo Sopeju. Best of luck to all our Canadian competitors. Watch Yip below on some German plastic by clicking on the clip.

Thanks to @studio_bloc for the third stop on our German adventure tour! All of their problems were really fun…especially if you did a gratuitous jump to the four-point start hold ?

A video posted by Alannah Yip (@alannah_yip) on Aug 7, 2016 at 3:18pm PDT

Shauna Coxsey has won four World Cups this year. In June, the Bouldering champ sealed her first place finish in the IFSC Bouldering World Cup rankings with a Silver in Vail. When not congratulating the British star, supporters in Munich will be following the other four women in contention for the Overall medals. Miho Nonaka is having the best season of her IFSC career and the 19-year-
old can improve on her third-place finish last year. Japan teammate Akiyo Noguchi and Melissa Le Neve of France will hope to join her on the podium. While she will need nothing short of Gold in Munich to finish among the top three, expect Monika Retschy of Germany to not be short on applause in front of her home crowd. Watch Coxsey training below by clicking on the clip.

When you figure out some sneaky beta that makes the move possible! ? #coachesbeta #training #psyched #swing

A video posted by SHAUNA COXSEY (@shaunacoxsey) on Aug 10, 2016 at 9:32am PDT

For the men, the strong athletes from Japan currently control the rankings. Kokoro Fujii has accumulated more points thus far than any other man, but a glance at the 2016 IFSC Rules reveals Tomoa Narasaki holds a slight edge. Alexey Rubtsov and Rustam Gelmanov of Russia have both won Gold this season and could shake things up in Munich. Also keep an eye on the young Yoshiyuki Ogata of Japan. The eighteen-year-old impressed in Vail at his first World Cup Finals and could make his first podium on Saturday. Watch Semis and Finals below.