After the IFSC Nations Grand Finale crowned their Boulder and Lead team champions it was the turn of the Para climbers to show the crowds what they could do.

Part exhibition, part competition, 14 climbers were split into two groups to climb a Lead route they had worked through on the first day.

The ‘qualification’ round gave the climbers 15 minutes to work through the route they had been categorised in based on their ability. The climbers could use their time in any way they wanted to maximise their final climb.

For the competition element, seven climbers were placed in group A and seven in group B with Japan’s Junichi Fujisaku winning on route A and Shingo Kurosawa winning on route B.

Fujisaku climbed to the top of route A but unfortunately timed out and was downgraded to hold 40, but it was still enough to take the gold medal ahead of his teammate Mika Maeoka who was just behind on hold 39+.

After his climb Fujisaku said: *“I’m very excited. The time ran out and my arms are really tired, but I’m happy I got to the top.

“Thank you to the supporters here, they really cheered me all the way.”*

In third place behind Fujisaku and Maeoka was Hiromi Aoki who made it to hold 35.

Shingo Kurosawa initially started on route A but after his working session requested to compete on route B, and he excelled as the only climber to top either route.

After the competition Kurosawa was asked about both routes and said: “I think A was my favourite and I was really good at it. Route B was hard at the top and challenging. I wanted the challenge so I asked if I could do route B in the competition.”

Asked if he had a message for the audience Kurosawa said: “I really appreciate competing in this competition. To those who are disabled, give climbing a try and let’s all climb together.**”

In second place was Kazuhiko Yamashita who climbed to hold 45+ with Shuhei Yuki in third on hold 39+.

The event in Fukuoka finished with an exhibition of climbing that included a speed, traverse boulder that the Nations Grand Finale participants had some fun with, Sorato Anraku climbing one of the Para final routes blindfolded to simulate the visually impaired classes and lots of interviews and demonstrations.

RESULTS

All the results can be found at https://result.jma-climbing.org/event/paramaster2025/34/1/result

WHERE TO WATCH

All elimination heat and final rounds in Fukuoka will be live streamed on the IFSC YouTube channel, with restrictions that may apply according to the territory.

News and updates about the event will be available on the IFSC website and across the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.