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The Kranj World Cup and Sean McColl’s top finish

The 2014 IFSC World Cup season wrapped up this November 15-16 in Kranj, Slovenia. Home country favorite Mina Markovic took gold before her home crowd and we crowned this season’s overall medalists in Lead.

Kranj World Cup
Kranj World Cup

Just a stone’s throw from Slovenia’s capital city of Ljubljana, Kranj hosted the final World Cup of the 2014 season. This year marked the 19th anniversary of Kranj hosting climbing World Cups, and this year’s competition was a spectacular ending to a historic 2014 IFSC season.

Home victory and overall Lead silver for Mina Markovic The competition in Kranj, both on the men’s and women’s sides, was split between the podiums, which were close, and the rest of the climbers, who all fell a number of moves lower on the wall.

On the women’s side, all the action took place at the end of the finals, with the final three climbers blowing the competition away and taking the spots on the podium. Akiyo Noguchi (JPN), the third-to-last climber, finished with a bronze medal with a score of 36, five moves higher than the competition. Jain Kim (KOR), who climbed in the penultimate position, posted a score of 42 and took the silver medal. Finally, Mina Markovic (SLO) climbed to the intense cheers of her home crowd in Slovenia and came the closest to topping of the women with a score of 46+, and a decisive gold medal victory. Her score also secured her the second place in the overall Lead World Cup rankings, behind Jain Kim and in front of Austria’s Magdalena Röck.

Check out the IFSC’s photos from 2014 on Flickr

The men’s finals were quite similar to the women’s, with the final three climbers surpassing the competition to take all three spots on the podium. Sachi Amma (JPN) took bronze with a score of 37+, four moves in front of Slovenia’s Domen Skofic. Sean McColl (CAN), after struggling with the first clip, climbed quickly and strongly to a silver medal with a score of 38. Adam Ondra (CZE), was the final climber and cemented his historic 2014 season by finishing six moves ahead of the pack with a score of 44+, taking the gold.

In the overall Lead World Cup rankings, Jakob Schubert, who secured his victory in Inzai, topped the podium, followed by Sean McColl and Adam Ondra.

Sean McColl in first place overall

Sean McColl wrote after the season, “Wow, what a perfect ending to a great season. With my silver medal at the Kranj World Cup, I managed to secure another silver medal in the lead 2014 general rankings. To top off the evening, I got my third podium of the night with my combined overall general rankings win. So many congratulations to pass around. Obviously everyone listed in the above podiums and it’s great to see climbers who may not be on the podium, but still showing progression and most importantly having fun.”

Triple podium for Sean McColl  Photo Heiko Wilhelm
Triple podium for Sean McColl Photo Heiko Wilhelm

IFSC Full Kranj Results

Kranj World Cup Men’s Results
1. Adam Ondra
2. Sean McColl
3. Sachi Amma

Kranj World Cup Women’s Results
1. Mina Markovic
2. Jain Kim
3. Akiyo Noguci

2014 Lead Men’s General Rankings
1. Jakob Schubert
2. Sean McColl
3. Adam Ondra

2014 Lead Women’s General Rankings
1. Jain Kim
2. Mina Markovic
3. Magdalena Rock

2014 Combined Men’s General Rankings
1. Sean McColl
2. Adam Ondra
3. Domen Skofic

2014 Combined Women’s General Rankings
1. Akiyo Noguchi
2. Mina Markovic
3. Momoka Oda

M
Kranj top three women: Jain Kim, Mina Markovic and Akiyo Noguchi
M
Kranj top three: Sean McColl, Adam Ondra and Sachi Amma  Photo IFSC

 

 

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