Natalia Grossman Wins Third Straight World Cup Gold
And Yoshiyuki Ogata took top spot for the men
The fourth stop for the IFSC World Cup series of 2022 took place in Salt Lake City where a loud audience fought moody weather to cheer on the men and women in finals.
Entering the round in fourth, Natalia Grossman was the only one to climb all four boulders in finals, including a decisive flash on the fourth and most difficult. The 20-year-old from Boulder won her third consecutive gold medal, strengthening her position at the top of the current Boulder World Cup ranking.
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Nonaka Miho of Japan finished second, winning silver with three tops and four zones. Grossman’s teammate Brooke Raboutou finsished in third, taking bronze with three tops, four zones, and only one attempt-to-top more than Nonaka.
“I had no idea what to expect coming into this weekend, I wanted to make another back-to-back happen, but I wasn’t sure,” said Grossman after the final. “There were so many points I wanted to give up in this round, I thought it was over after the first boulder, and it was hard to stay positive, but I made it.”
Team Japan won their third Boulder World Cup gold in 2022 with a third different climber: after Narasaki Tomoa and Fujii Kokoro respectively won gold in Meiringen, Switzerland, and Seoul, South Korea, Yoshiyuki Ogata claimed his third career World Cup gold this weekend.
Anze Peharc also got four tops, four zones, and the exact same number of attempts to top and zone in finals, but finished with silver due to his performance in semis.
“This year I placed second in the first World Cup, then again third in Seoul, and second here last week, I was dreaming of taking the top of the podium and I’m very happy it finally happened!” commented Ogata.
Fujii completed the podium in third position, taking bronze with four tops, four zones, and a highest number of attempts to top than Ogata and Peharc.
Just outside of the medal positions, South Korean Olympian Chon Jongwon placed fourth with three tops and four zones, while Kawamata Rei, also representing Japan, took fifth place with three and three. Competing in his first-ever World Cup final round, Ross Fulkerson of the United States of America closed in sixth place with two tops and four zones. Full results here.
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