Climbing’s Biggest Names Competing This Weekend in Boulder and Lead

The 2023 IFSC Climbing World Championships in Bern, Switzerland are well underway. After three days of qualification rounds, both men’s and women’s Boulder and Lead qualifiers are now complete. The men’s Boulder semi-final and final are being held on Friday August 4. The women’s Boulder semi-final and final will then be held the following day, Saturday August 5. On Sunday, both the men’s and women’s lead semi-finals and finals will take place.

As expected, many of the biggest names in comp climbing have made it through to the semis. In men’s, Sorato Anraku continued his breakout year, placing at the top of both the Boulder and Lead qualification rankings. Mega-star Adam Ondra is moving on to semis in both Boulder and Lead, as is Jakob Schubert. Japan dominated the men’s Boulder qualifying round, with five of the top seven spots going to a Japanese athlete.

Canadian Sean McColl is moving on to the Lead semi-finals after placing 13th in the qualifiers. No other Canadian made it through to the semis in Boulder or Lead. No American made it through to the men’s Boulder semis, but USA team members Jesse Grupper, Colin Duffy, and Sean Bailey will be competing in the Lead semis.

Men’s Boulder Qualifier Results

1. Sorato Anraku (JPN)
2. Yoshiyuki Ogata (JPN)
3. Yannick Flohé (GER)
4. Sam Avezou (FRA)
5. Kokoro Fujii (JPN)
6. Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
7. Meichi Narasaki (JPN)
8. Jakob Schubert (AUT)
9. Paul Jenft (FRA)
10. Jack MacDougall (GBR)
11. Nicolai Uznik (AUT)
12. Manuel Cornu (FRA)
13. Mejdi Schalck (FRA)
14. Mickael Mawem (FRA)
15. Toby Roberts (GBR)
16. Julien Clémence (SUI)
17. Dohyun Lee (KOR)
18. Alex Megos (GER)
19. Adam Ondra (CZE)
20. Max Kleesattel (GER)

Men’s Lead Qualifier Results

1. Jakob Schubert (AUT)
2. Sorato Anraku (JPN)
3. Sam Avezou (FRA)
4. Sascha Lehmann (SUI)
5. Jesse Grupper (USA)
6. Toby Roberts (GBR)
7. Yunchan Song (KOR)
8. Adam Ondra (CZE)
9. Alberto Ginés López (ESP)
10. Yannick Flohé (GER)
11. Nino Grünenfelder (SUI)
12. Ao Yurikusa (JPN)
13. Alex Megos (GER)
14. Sean McColl (CAN)
15. Paul Jenft (FRA)
16. Colin Duffy (USA)
17. Mejdi Schalck (FRA)
18. Yoshiyucki Ogata (JPN)
19. Jonas Utelli (SUI)
20. Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
21. Sean Bailey (USA)
22. Filip Schenk (ITA)
23. Martin Stranik (CZE)
24. Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA)
25. Dohyun Lee (KOR)
26. Yufei Pan (CHI)
27. Marcello Bombardi (ITA)

In women’s qualifiers, Janja Garnbret and Brooke Raboutou both placed at the top (or very near the top) in Boulder and Lead. Team USA had a great showing in Boulder, with Raboutou, Annie Sanders, Natalia Grossman, and Kyra Condie all making it through to the semis. After a tough round in Lead, Grossman is not moving on but her teammates Raboutou and Sanders are.

Other athletes competing in both Boulder and Lead semis include Japan’s Ai Mori, Austria’s Jessica Pilz, France’s Oriane Bertone, and Great Britain’s Molly Thompson-Smith. Like Team USA in Boulder, Team Slovenia had an excellent performance in Lead, with five of their athletes moving on to the Lead semis.

Women’s Boulder Qualifier Results

1. Brooke Raboutou (USA)
2. Janja Garnbret (SLO)
3. Ayala Kerem (ISR)
4. Zélia Avezou (FRA)
5. Annie Sanders (USA)
6. Flavy Cohaut (FRA)
7. Oriane Bertone (FRA)
8. Petra Klinger (SUI)
9. Natalia Grossman (USA)
10. Kyra Condie (USA)
11. Jessica Pilz (AUT)
12. Ai Mori (JPN)
13. Julija Kruder (SLO)
14. Elnaz Rekabi (IRI)
15. Ievgeniia Kazbekova (UKR)
16. Afra Hönig (GER)
17. Martina Buršíková (SVK)
18. Franziska Strerrer (AUT)
19. Oceania Mackenzie (AUS)
20. Molly Thompson-Smith (GBR)

Women’s Lead Qualifier Results

1. Janja Garnbret (SLO)
2. Ai Mori (JPN)
3. Brooke Raboutou (USA)
4. Laura Rogora (ITA)
5. Chaehyun Seo (KOR)
6. Nonoha Kume (JPN)
7. Annie Sanders (USA)
8. Jessica Pilz (AUT)
9. Vita Lukan (SLO)
10. Manon Hily (FRA)
11. Molly Thompson-Smith (GBR)
12. Oriane Bertone (FRA)
13. Miho Nonaka (JPN)
14. Zélia Avezou (FRA)
15. Zhilu Luo (CHI)
16. Jain Kim (KOR)
17. Mia Krampl (SLO)
18. Camilla Moroni (ITA)
19. Stasa Gejo (SRB)
20. Hélène Janicot (FRA)
21. Yejoo Seo (KOR)
22. Sara Copar (SLO)
23. Martina Demmel (GER)
24. Mattea Pötzi (AUT)
25. Lynn Van Der Meer (NED)
26. Lucija Tarkus (SLO)

Livestreams

A detailed 2023 World Championships programme with dates and times of the various competitions can be found here. The semi-finals and finals will be livestreamed on the IFSC’s Youtube Channel.