Sean McColl Gets Personal Best, Yip Heads to Semis
With the start of the speed competition unraveling in Moscow this week, we saw great performances from many different athletes. Canadians Sean McColl finished in 40th and Alannah Yip in 33rd, but didn’t advance to semis in Speed.
McColl got a personal best at 7.17, while Yip clocked in with 9.5. In bouldering, McColl missed semi-finals again, but Yip made the semis for the second world cup in a row.
“Bassa Mawem started off very strong against Gian Luca Zodda with a quick win with a time of 5.79. This impressive first round finish stayed with him as he advanced throughout the competition with no slips or delays,” said the IFSC press release. “This striking performance and constancy landed him with the fastest time both in the qualifying rounds and eventually with a Gold medal, leaving the Moscow local Vladislav Deulin falling off the wall and finishing with the silver medal.”
The women’s rounds were equally as powerful and surprising, especially within the Russian team. “Starting off the competition we saw an early heartbreak from Mariia Krasavina, who normally makes the final 4, fall to her comrade, Elizaveta Ivanova. With an early slip by Krasavina, Ivanova took advantage of the situation moving onto the second round. This was short lived unfortunately being beat out by another teammate, Iuliia Kaplina, who currently shares the world record of 7.32 seconds.
“Even with her impressive record and the support of the entire venue behind her, she also fell short to Y. Song, but managed to take Anna Tsyganova in the small finals, finishing with a bronze medal. YiLing Song from China performed with strength and consistency, which helped her take the gold with a final time of 7.38 and winning the first speed climbing competition of the season.”
For women’s bouldering, Janja Garnbret, who won last week’s world cup, is heading into semis in first. She’s followed by Fanny Gibert and Katja Kadic. Follow results here. Watch semis and finals below.