Here’s Who’s Competing This Week for a Spot in the 2024 Olympics

Comp climbing's biggest names are facing off in the biggest event of 2023 on Friday and Saturday

Photo by: Lena Drapella/IFSC

Aaron Pardy August 9, 2023

The men’s and women’s Boulder & Lead semi-finals were held today at the World Championships in Bern, Switzerland. In the Boulder & Lead event – often referred to as “Combined” – athletes compete in both bouldering and lead climbing on the same day, earning points in each discipline that are summed together to reach a final score.

Last week, athletes competed in separate, distinct Boulder and Lead events. Janja Garnbret and Mickael Mawem were crowned Boulder World Champions and Ai Mori and Jakob Schubert Lead World Champions. The results of those two events were used to determine the composition of the group that faced off today in the Boulder & Lead combined event semi-finals.

Twenty men and twenty-one women competed in a bouldering comp this morning and then a lead comp this evening, with the top eight in each gender category moving on to this weekend’s finals. The three athletes that podium in the finals in each gender category will earn their ticket to the Paris 2014 Olympics.

France’s Paul Jenft at the Boulder & Lead semi-final. Photo by Lena Drapella/IFSC.

In the men’s semi-final, the 16-year-old climbing prodigy Sorato Anraku placed first in both the bouldering portion and lead portion of the event, continuing his string of successes this season. He was followed by Toby Roberts and Colin Duffy. Roberts placed 10th in bouldering and 2nd in lead, while Duffy earned 9th in bouldering and 4th in lead. Roberts put on an absolute show in the lead comp, gesturing to the crowd twice as he reach the top.

“That felt absolutely incredible,” he said after the semi-finals. “Having had some results that haven’t been going the best, the competition tonight is so nice to be in front of this huge crowd and give a really good fight on a nice route. From the Lead final to tonight it’s really nice to be able to get a result I know I am capable of. Being in that moment, the crowd was just electric – it was incredible. I was so in the moment. I felt really good up there so I turned around and gave them a little hype up. I was properly in the moment and I’m really happy.”

Superstars and long-time competitors Tomoa Narasaki, Jakob Schubert, and Adam Ondra will join the top three young guns in Saturday’s men’s Boulder & Lead final.

Men’s Semi-Final Results

Sorato Anraku (JPN)
Toby Roberts (GBR)
Colin Duffy (USA)
Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
Jakob Schubert (AUT)
Adam Ondra (CZE)
Dohyun Lee (KOR)
Paul Jenft (FRA)

Austria’s Jessica Pilz at the Boulder & Lead semi-final. Photo by Lena Drapella/IFSC.

In women’s, to no one’s surprise, Janja Garnbret came out of the semi-finals ranked highest. She placed first in the boulder comp, the only woman to top all four boulders. She placed second in lead after falling near the top. Only Japan’s Ai Mori, hot off her Lead World Championship gold, topped the women’s route. She placed second overall, followed by France’s Oriane Bertone.

Team USA has two athletes joining Garnbret, Mori, and Bertone in finals. Brooke Raboutou placed 4th and season-newcomer Annie Sanders placed 7th. Natalia Grossman placed 9th, just missing her chance to compete in the finals. Long-time competitors Miho Nonaka, Jessica Pilz, and Jain Kim will also joining the women’s Boulder & Lead finals, which will be held this Friday August 11.

“I’m excited for finals,” said Pilz after the semi-finals. “It was one of my big goals and I can’t wait to climb. I will give even more than today. Everyone in finals wants the top spot, but I try to focus on climbing and not the result as the points are difficult to compare and calculate. I just focus on climbing and giving my best.”