Team USA’s Annie Sanders Wins First World Cup Gold
The 17-year-old bested some of the world's best comp climbers at the final Boulder World Cup of 2024
Nakajima Kazushige/IFSC
The final women’s Boulder World Cup of the 2024 season was held today in Seoul, South Korea. Team USA took its second women’s Boulder World Cup gold medal in a row, but this time it wasn’t favourite Natalia Grossman standing atop the podium. Instead it was 17-year-old Annie Sanders who earned gold after an impressive performance of three tops and four zones. It was her first-ever World Cup gold medal.
The evening didn’t start particularly well for Sanders. On problem #1, she took four attempts to top. Most of her competitors took only one of two attempts to complete the problem, putting her nearly in last place. While most athletes used a dynamic sequence to move through the crux, Sanders made use of her static skills and executed a gnarly iron cross to make it through the tough section.
Sanders was also one of two climbers to not top problem #2. Again sticking to her static style, she was unable to make it through the coordination sequence guarding the top hold. Heading into problem #3, Sanders was in second to last place. She needed to pick it up on the final two problems of the night for a chance at a medal.
And pick it up she did! Sanders absolutely styled problem #3, the slab. She sent the bloc on just her second attempt. Most other climbers didn’t finish it including top competitors Natalia Grossman, Erin McNeice, and Miho Nonaka.
Sanders secured the gold medal on the final problem of the night. Using a mix of both dynamic power and static strength, she flashed the final bloc, making the top look relatively easy. No other competitor made it past the zone hold. This left Sanders with three tops and four zones, with seven attempts for her tops. This score put her just ahead of Team France’s Zélia Avezou who also earned three tops and four zones, but with nine attempts to top. Erin McNeice took bronze with two tops and four zones.
“I’m definitely still in shock right now,” said Sanders after her her win. “I wasn’t expecting this. After the second boulder, I almost kind of gave up hope as a lot of people were topping that one, so I was just trying to have fun for the rest of the round, and it paid off.”
Sanders made her World Cup circuit debut in the 2023 season, making finals at both the Salt Lake City and Seoul Boulder World Cups. Prior to Seoul in the 2024 World Cup season, she earned bronzes at the Boulder World Cup in Innsbruck and Lead World Cup in Koper.
Final Results
- Annie Sanders (USA) 3T4z 7 13
- Zélia Avezou (FRA) 3T4z 9 7
- Erin McNeice (GBR) 2T4z 4 5
- Natalia Grossman (USA) 2T4z 5 5
- Miho Nonaka (JPN) 2T4z 9 8
- Agathe Calliet (FRA) 0T3z 0 10
