Tomoa Narasaki Wins Combined World Championship

Whether you stayed up into the wee hours to watch the event live, or you watched the replay, the final men’s round of the Combined World Championships was super exciting. Especially for fans of Tomoa Narasaki.

Even someone not typically a fan of the discipline would’ve enjoyed the simplicity and intensity of the speed portion of the combined Finals. A little heartbreak for Kokoru Fujii when he lost his lead against Kai Harada due to a slip, followed by an amazing comeback from Mickael Mawem, who recovered from a slip to beat Jakob Schubert. The Narasaki brothers, Tomoa and Meichi, faced off against one another. Tomoa advanced and went on to beat Mickael Mawem, who ended in 4th after also losing to Meichi. The only one to beat Tomoa was Rishat Khaibullin.

After coming an impressive second place in the speed round, Tomoa Narasaki came out and showed everyone that he is in a league of his own on the boulders. The overall bouldering World Cup winner and bouldering World Champion was the only competitor to finish the first two problems, and he swept the round with a send of problem three as well.

With a first and second score heading into the lead portion of the event, Narasaki didn’t have to do much by the time his turn came to tie in. Nevertheless, he climbed his way to second place in the lead and finished the combined event with four points – the lowest score seen so far at a combined event. The Japanese super star won the Combined World Championship by a landslide.

Though he couldn’t join Janja Garnbret in winning the combined title two years in a row, Jakob Schubert made a huge comeback, after disappointing rounds in both speed and bouldering, and got the only top of the lead route, which was enough to land him a silver medal.

Rounding out the podium in third place, somewhat unexpectedly, was Rishat Khaibullin. While the speed climber from Khazakhstan really struggled in the bouldering round, and ended in 8th, he put on an amazing effort on the lead wall and it paid off. Coming 5th in the lead, combined with his first place in speed, was enough for a bronze medal. With a bit more training on the boulders, Khaibullin will be an even greater threat at the Olympics next year.

Men’s Combined Finals Results

1. Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
2. Jakob Schubert (AUT)
3. Rishat Khaibullin (KAZ)
4. Kai Harada (JPN)
5. Mechi Narasaki (JPN)
6. Kokoru Fujii (JPN)
7. Mickael Mawem (FRA)
8. Alex Megos (GER)

FULL RESULTS HERE