Here’s Who’s Competing Tomorrow in the First Lead World Cup Finals of 2023
Many of climbing's biggest stars will be facing off at tomorrow's event in Innsbruck
Photo by: Lena Drapella/IFSC
The first IFSC Lead World Cup semi-finals were held today in Innsbruck, Austria. Twenty-six of the world’s best competition climbers faced off in each gender category. Both routes were tough, with no competitor topping either route. In women’s, South Korea’s Chaehyun Seo and Japan’s Ai Mori both fell moving towards the 47th hold. Because Seo placed higher than Mori in the qualifiers, she moves into the finals in first while Mori takes second. Janja Garnbret placed third, as she reached the 46th hold.
Garnbret won the overall Lead World Cup seasons in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022. Seo has been the only one to beat her over the past six seasons, winning the overall series in 2019. “[The women’s semi-final route] was super hard from the beginning, and it was really tricky, but the route was really cool and I was happy to climb it,” said Seo, after the Innsbruck semi-finals. “I’m so excited for the finals and I really think I can get a medal.”
In men’s, Swiss climber Sascha Lehmann took the top spot in the semis, falling while moving for the 44th hold. Home crowd favourite, Jakob Schubert placed second, securely establishing on the 43rd hold. Japan’s Masahiro Higuchi took third. “This crowd is just crazy!” said Schubert after his climb. “It’s so amazing to climb in front of them and feel their energy, but at the same time before going out you get the goosebumps and feel the pressure.”
“The route was perfect in terms of just getting the flow,” he added. “I climbed quickly so I didn’t have a chance to second fault or start getting nervous during the route. I just felt a super nice flow and found a nice rest point at the end. I felt like I had the energy to top the route, but the last move was very hard. I knew the chance to slip was very high, so I went for the safe route. I knew if I did it like this there was no way to keep on going, but at least I get the score and probably secure the final, and that’s what mattered today.”
Other big names competing in the finals tomorrow include Natalia Grossman, Brooke Raboutou, and Alex Megos. Coming hot off his gold medal win in bouldering yesterday, Japan’s Sorato Anraku will also be participating in the finals.
No Canadian athlete made the lead semi-finals or finals. Oscar Baudrand placed 35th in the men’s qualification round, Sean McColl 53rd, and Victor Baudrand 83rd. Madison Fischer placed 31st in the women’s qualifiers, Alannah Yip 47th, Indiana Chapman 49th, and Rebecca Frangos 73rd.
The women’s lead final starts at 1:30pm ET (10:30am PT) tomorrow, Sunday June 18. The men’s lead final starts an hour later, 2:30pm ET (11:30am PT). We’ll be covering the results so be sure to check back in to Gripped Indoor Climbing for the latest news.
Women’s Semi-Final Results
- Chaehyun Seo (46+) [KOR]
- Ai Mori (46+) [JPN]
- Janja Garnbret (46) [SLO]
- Jessica Pilz (40+) [AUT]
- Mia Krampl (36+) [SLO]
- Natalia Grossman (34+) [USA]
- Brooke Raboutou (34+) [USA]
- Helene Janicot (32+) [FRA]
Men’s Semi-Final Results
- Sascha Lehmann (43+) [SUI]
- Jakob Schubert (43) [AUT]
- Masahiro Higuchi (42+) [JPN]
- Taisei Homma (42) [JPN]
- Sorato Anraku (40) [JPN]
- Mejdi Schalck (40) [FRA]
- Alberto Gines Lopez (40) [ESP]
- Alex Megos (39+) [GER]
- Satone Yoshida (39+) [JPN]
Innsbruck 2023 Lead World Cup Semi-Final Livestream Replay
Innsbruck 2023 Lead World Cup Final Livestream
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