Gold for Canadian Guy McNamee at the North American Cup Series
Canadians had a strong showing in Lead and Boulder at the first NACS event of 2024
The first Lead and Boulder events of the 2024 North American Cup Series (NACS) wrapped up yesterday at the USA Climbing Training Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Canadian athletes had solid performances in the two comps, with Rebecca Frangos, Babette Roy, Kindar McNamee, Guy McNamee, Maddie Richardson, Anna Kelley, and Zach Richardson all making the finals in Lead or Boulder. Guy McNamee had the best showing, placing first in Boulder and sixth in Lead. Rebecca Frangos earned silver in Lead and Maddie Richardson won bronze in Boulder.
What is the NACS?
The NACS was first launched by Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC) and USA Climbing in 2021.The mission of the series is to “provide a high-level competition series for advanced and elite athletes from the America’s to continue their development outside of World Cup competition.” CEC and USA Climbing are the national governing bodies for comp climbing in Canada and the US respectively, as recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the IFSC.
The 2021 series had five events. In 2022, four events were held. The 2023 season was the biggest ever, with seven events – two in Canada, one in Costa Rica, and four in the US. This year’s series will see five events – three in the US and two in Canada.
“The NACS is an excellent opportunity for athletes to gain valued experience at an elite level,” said the Executive Director of CEC, Christiane Marceau before the start of the 2023 series. “It reduces the gap between national events and IFSC World Cups, adding a much-needed development step. For Canadian athletes, the NACS stops are also a great way to collect [Continuous National Ranking] points for Team Canada Selection!”
Upcoming 2024 NACS Events
- June 6-8, GoPro Mountain Games, Vail, CO (Boulder)
- June 22-23, Altitude Kanata, Ottawa, Ontario (Boulder), Hosted by CEC
- September 13-15, Location TBD (Lead, Speed), Hosted by USA Climbing
- September (dates TBD), Olympic Oval, Richmond, BC (Lead & Speed), Hosted by CEC
2024 NACS Salt Lake City Results
Guy McNamee placed first in Boulder in Salt Lake City after being the only athlete to top three out of the four men’s final problems. The round was a tough one, with tops being a rarity. American Raymond Hensen placed second with two tops, and Israeli Yuval Shemla placed third with one top. McNamee is one of Canada’s best competitive climbers. He has extensive World Cup experience and has been crowned Canadian National Champion seven times. In 2023, he won silver at both the Lead and Boulder Canadian National Championships. In 2022, he was the double-champ, earning gold in both Lead and Boulder.
In men’s Lead, Americans Sergey Lakhno and Nathan Sato took gold and silver respectively, and Shemla earned bronze. Canadian Kindar McNamee – Guy’s twin brother and the 2023 Canadian Lead National Champion – placed fourth, just missing out on a podium spot.
The breakout performance of the comp was by 15-year-old American Analise Van Hoang, who won gold in both the women’s Lead and Boulder events. She was the only climber to top all four women’s final problems. In Lead, she tied Canadian Rebecca Frangos on the wall, with both athletes falling moving for the 39th hold of the route. Van Hoang earned the gold due to countback to the semi-final round where she placed second and Frangos placed fourth. In 2021, at only 12 years of age, Van Hoang climbed Chinese Connection V13 at Mortar Rock in California.
Van Hoang was joined by Rebecca Frangos (silver) and American Melina Costanza (bronze) on the Lead podium, and American Quinn Mason (silver) and Maddie Richardson (bronze) on the Boulder podium. Richardson’s solid performance in Salt Lake City follows her impressive Keqiao World Cup result, where she placed seventh in the semi-finals, just missing out on a chance to compete in the finals.
The full Lead and Boulder results for the Salt Lake City NACS event are found below, as are the livestream replays for both comps.
Lead Results – Women
- Analise Van Hoang (USA)
- Rebecca Frangos (CAN)
- Melina Costanza (USA)
- Ella Fisher (USA)
- Quinn Mason (USA)
- Babette Roy (CAN)
- Norah Chi (USA)
- Kylie Szilagyi (USA)
Lead Results – Men
- Sergey Lakhno (USA)
- Nathan Sato (USA)
- Yuval Shemla (ISR)
- Kindar McNamee (CAN)
- Cruz Padilla (USA)
- Guy McNamee (CAN)
- Nathan Monte (USA)
- Brenden Beauchamp (USA)
Boulder Results – Women
- Analise Van Hoang (USA)
- Quinn Mason (USA)
- Madison Richardson (CAN)
- Cloe Coscoy (USA)
- Nekaia Sanders (USA)
- Anna Kelley (CAN)
Boulder Results – Men
- Guy McNamee (CAN)
- Raymond Hansen (USA)
- Yuval Shemla (ISR)
- Zach Richardson (CAN)
- Cruz Padilla (USA)
- Isaac Leff (USA)
2024 NACS Salt Lake City Lead Final
2024 NACS Salt Lake City Boulder Final
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