The Legendary Rock Master Comp Was as Exciting as Ever This Year
Germany's Yannick Flohè and Paris Olympic bronze medalist Jessica Pilz of Austria took home gold
Over the weekend, the famous Rock Master competition took place in Arco, Italy. The prestigious comp has been held each year since 1987 and has seen many of climbing’s best stand atop the podium. This year’s Rock Master featured two events, KO Boulder and Lead Duel. Each event had its own separate ranking and winners, but the title of 2024 Rock Master champion was awarded to the athletes with the best combined score across the two disciplines.
KO Boulder is a unique bouldering format where climbers compete on a series of increasingly difficult blocs. Each round progressively eliminates competitors until only one winner remains.
The Lead Duel comp is speed climbing on steroids. This tournament style format combines elements of both the traditional Lead and Speed competition formats. In each race, two athletes climb on identical, parallel routes, gunning for the top as fast as they can – you won’t see any shaking out or chalking up mid-route. The athlete that climbs the highest or reaches the top the fastest moves onto the next round of races. Compared to the classic Speed route found in IFSC or Olympic competition, the Lead Duel routes are much more difficult. As the name suggests, the Lead Duel routes are also climbed on lead rather than autobelay.
In the KO Boulder comp, Jessica Pilz of Austria and Yannick Flohè of Germany came out on top. Two Italian climbers – Camilla Moroni and Laura Rogora – took second and third respectively behind Pilz. Flohè was followed by Hannes Van Duysen of Beligum in second and Czechia’s Adam Ondra in third.
The Lead Duel comp was exciting as ever. Ondra was the favourite leading into the comp. Known for his fast, risky climbing style, he has seven Rock Master victories to his name. In his first race at this year’s event, he reached the end of the route well ahead of competitor Van Duysen. He shot for the buzzer and missed, allowing Van Duysen to move on to the semi-finals.
In the women’s Lead Duel, Pilz once again took first, easily securing herself the title of 2024 Rock Master champion. It’s her first time winning the event. She was followed by Sara Coper of Slovenia in second and Austrian teammate Mattea Pötzi in third in the Lead Duel event. In in the overall combined ranking, Moroni took silver and Coper bronze.
Filip Schenk of Italy took the top spot in the Lead Duel, besting Van Duysen in the final race of the night. Flohè took third after beating Slovenian Luca Potocar in the small final. Flohè was crowned the overall Rock Master champion, with Van Duysen earning silver and Schenk bronze.
Women’s KO Boulder Results
- Jessica Pilz (AUS)
- Camilla Moroni (ITA)
- Laura Rogora (ITA)
- Lucia Dörffel (GER)
- Mattea Pötzi (AUT)
- Sara Copar (SLO)
- Vita Lukan (SLO)
- Oceania Mackenzie (AUS)
Women’s Lead Duel Results
- Jessica Pilz (AUS)
- Sara Copar (SLO)
- Mattea Pötzi (AUT)
- Camilla Moroni (ITA)
- Oceania Mackenzie (AUS)
- Vita Lukan (SLO)
- Lucia Dörffel (GER)
- Laura Rogora (ITA)
Women’s Combined Results
- Jessica Pilz (AUS)
- Camilla Moroni (ITA)
- Sara Copar (SLO)
- Mattea Pötzi (AUT)
- Laura Rogora (ITA)
- Lucia Dörffel (GER)
- Oceania Mackenzie (AUS)
- Vita Lukan (SLO)
Men’s KO Boulder Results
- Yannick Flohè (GER)
- Hannes Van Duysen (BEL)
- Adam Ondra (CZE)
- Jan-Luca Posch (AUT)
- Michaeal Piccolruaz (ITA)
- Filip Schenk (ITA)
- Luka Potocar (SLO)
- Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA)
Men’s Lead Duel Results
- Filip Schenk (ITA)
- Hannes Van Duysen (BEL)
- Yannick Flohè (GER)
- Luka Potocar (SLO)
- Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA)
- Adam Ondra (CZE)
- Jan-Luca Posch (AUT)
- Michaeal Piccolruaz (ITA)
Men’s Combined Results
- Yannick Flohè (GER)
- Hannes Van Duysen (BEL)
- Filip Schenk (ITA)
- Adam Ondra (CZE)
- Jan-Luca Posch (AUT)
- Luka Potocar (SLO)
- Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA)
- Michaeal Piccolruaz (ITA)
