Japan’s Mori and Anraku Earn Gold at Final World Cup of 2023
The World Cup series wrapped up with two of the hardest lead routes of the season
Photo by: Jan Virt/IFSC
On Sunday, the final IFSC Lead World Cup of 2023 was held in Wujiang, China. Japanese athletes nearly swept the podiums, winning two golds, one silver, and two bronzes. Japan won the top four spots in the men’s comp, and in total, nine of the 16 finalists across the two gender categories were representing the country. In women’s, Ai Mori earned gold after being the only woman to reach the upper headwall. In men’s, 2023 season newcomer and standout Sorato Anraku earned gold, reaching nearly 10 holds higher than the silver medal winner, Shion Omata.
The final route of the 2023 Lead Cup was a tough one. Other than Mori and Anraku, every other competitor fell at hold 31 or below, with none reaching the final headwall sections of the routes. Both routes featured a middle portion of difficult-to-read, steep, bouldery climbing on large holds and volumes – a section that sent most athletes groundward.
Although Mori didn’t compete in three out of the six Lead events this year, in the ones she did compete, she made podium each time. She earned silver in Innsbruck and Koper, and gold at this event in Wujiang. She also had a very successful World Championships in Bern in August, winning gold in Lead and bronze in the new Olympic Combined format.
“Before climbing I was very nervous, but now I’ve won I’m very happy,” said Mori after her victory in Wujiang. “I feel a lot of pressure, mostly that I put on myself – I just don’t feel confident. But if I don’t have confidence in myself I can’t win, so I have to tell myself a lot [that] I can do it.”
It’s hard to remember a rookie season as incredible as Anraku’s. He made the finals at every Lead event of the season earning fourth in Innsbruck, sixth in Villars, bronze in Chamonix, and gold in Briancon, Koper, and Wujiang. He also won silver at the Lead World Championships. In the Boulder World Cup this year, he won silver in Salt Lake City and gold in Innsbruck, winning the Overall Boulder title. Before even going into the Wujiang Lead event, he had already secured the Overall Lead title as well. At only 16 years old, Anraku is already a force to be reckoned with at the highest levels of comp climbing.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this final Lead competition of the year in Wujiang lacked star power from many North American and European countries. A combination of factors led to many athletes deciding to sit out of the event. It’s been a long and grueling season of competition, the event was all the way in China, and most importantly, many athletes are instead focused on training for the the continental Olympic qualification events coming up this autumn.
The United States didn’t send any athletes to the event, and Canada only sent Alannah Kip, who didn’t make it past the qualifying round. European stars like Janja Garnbret, Adam Ondra, Oriane Bertone, Jakob Schubert, and Alex Megos did not participate. Austrian Jessica Pilz had an excellent showing in Wujiang, earning silver.
Women’s Results
- Ai Mori (36+) [JPN]
- Jessica Pilz (31+) [AUT]
- Natsuki Tanii (26+) [JPN]
- Yuetong Zhang (22+) [CHN]
- Futaba Ito (22) [JPN]
- Miho Nonaka (21+) [JPN]
- Jain Kim (20+) [KOR]
- Manon Hily (17+) [FRA]
Men’s Results
- Sorato Anraku (39+) [JPN]
- Shion Omata (30+) [JPN]
- Taisei Homma (26+) [JPN]
- Yoshiyuki Ogata (26+) [JPN]
- Yunchan Song (24+) [KOR]
- Ao Yurikusa (23+) [JPN]
- Sascha Lehmann (23) [SUI]
- Nicolas Collin (23) [BEL]
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