The IFSC Climbing World Cup in Bern, Switzerland hosted competitors from around the world at this year's fifth Boulder World Cup competition. Here’s what some of the top-performing athletes had to say following each round.

MEN'S BOULDER SEMI-FINAL

Lee Dohyun of South Korea – first with 99.8 points:

"I felt more comfortable than last week's competition. I just want to enjoy this one, I did pretty well in semi-final and I'm satisfied with that.

"There were many powerful moves in the semi-final, some friction holds, and I like this style. Now I just want to enjoy the final."

Dayan Akhtar of Great Britain – fourth with 49.6 points:

"I'm really happy now. Coming in from the fourth boulder, I thought I'd done what I've done a few times a season, I've kind of given away my final well on the last block, but yeah, everyone came in, Toby just now, so I'm over the moon with how I approached the semi and also how I climbed.

*"I think those boulder were weren't kind at all. I think if you can make quick progress on them, they're achievable, but they're not the kind of blocks you want to hang around on them and wait for the last minute to do, so definitely a hard round, which I like. *

"I'm so happy to be back in the finals again. I've had quite a few close calls this season, which has been really frustrating. And the pressure's got racked up as we've got to the back end of the season, so I've got nothing to lose. I'm all in and I can't wait to climb."

Paul Jenft of France – fifth with 44.4 points:

"Physically it was a hard, I'm a bit tired, maybe because of the long season. In isolation I felt quite confident with my slab and coordination skills, so I went on the first boulder with nothing to lose, told myself to do what I was able to do and that's it.

"I was expecting to be around the 10th or 12th position, because I compared it with Salt Lake City, where I had a good feeling, while here I felt it was a bit less of a performance. After the first boulder, I knew it was hard, so I thought I had a chance, but I wasn't very confident."

WOMEN'S BOULDER FINAL

Eri McNeice of Great Britain – first with 99.5 points:

“I feel so happy, elated, and quite shocked! I want to do all the European World Cups and there are quite a lot of them, I decided to skip the American competitions so that I could have a chance to train between the Asian and the European tours.

“I’m definitely not going for Speed, I’m not built for it,” she added when told she is the first British woman to have won gold in both Boulder and Lead. “It feels pretty good to win gold in both disciplines, it’s been a massive long-term goals for me and it’s good to tick it off.”

WOMEN'S BOULDER SEMI-FINAL

Erin McNeice of Great Britain – second with 54.8 points:

"The semi-final was quite a lot of fun, the blocks were a lot harder than yesterday, which is very enjoyable. I think it's very hard to get the setting right, but I would much prefer it to be a lot harder than the for it to be much easier. I definitely enjoyed this round much more than yesterday’s.

"I feel like I'm planning quite well. I'm sort of in the second stint of my season, so I have had a bit of time to train, so I'm not feeling too fatigued yet."

MEN'S BOULDER QUALIFICATION

Yufei Pan of China – seventh with 94.1 points:

"It was so-so the performance. I felt I had too many attempts on the easy boulders and didn’t take my chance on the last two boulders. I just didn’t jump enough and had some stupid slips on the feet.

"It feels like everything is the same but it’s totally different. The field and the place are the same, but for the World Championships we had two different venues for qualification and the other rounds, we are back to one place and the lights and the audience are making me very excited."

Manuel Cornu of France – 21st with 69.3 points:

"I tore a tendon in my elbow, I did the exact same thing to my other elbow last year also. I still have a little pain but its better so I can train and climb two days in a row. It’s better, but maybe not enough for a World Cup.

"I feel happy to be back, it’s been a long time since my injury. It’s good to come back to the comp, but I don’t know if I am ready or not. I just saw the score and I am a little disappointed for some boulders."

WOMEN'S BOULDER QUALIFICATION

Geila Macià Martín of Spain – 15th with 109.1 points:

“I was happy with my qualification. I was nervous so I just wanted to do my best. After the last comp where I couldn’t do the final, I am here again in semi-finals and super happy about it.

“I’m not nervous now, I have zero pressure, and I want to go do my best, climb, and have fun with the boulders because they are so good.”

Kyra Condie of the USA – 21st with 108.1 points:

“Quali was good. I didn’t know what the wall was going to be like so coming out to each boulder was a bit of a surprise since it’s a brand-new wall. So that was exciting. It’s a bit vertical which is exciting too as it’s not always my style, so I was happy to execute well because of that.

“The angles of the wall tells you a lot about what the boulders are going to be like. Like if the wall is vertical like this then you know you will have a lot of tech, a lot of slopers, small feet, and you can prepare for that when you warm up. But if you don’t know that, you have to warm up for anything. I’ll change a bit for warm up now in semis and do less overhang stuff and more techie stuff.

“I’ve decided this will be my last full Boulder World Cup circuit this year, so it’s a little emotional. I’m excited to be in the semis and it’s a good way to go out. I’ve made every semi this year and I’ve never done that before, so ending on a high note and ending on my terms is something I wanted to do.”

PRE-EVENT

Julien Clémence of Switzerland:

"Having a home World Cup feels amazing. Having family, friends and teammates cheering for you on the biggest stage is an additional boost to perform well. I still get goosebumps thinking about World Champs in Bern in 2023. The atmosphere is just different.

“For me it’s yet another World Cup. I don’t want to change anything in my routine. I want to go out there, have fun, interact with the crowd and make the best out of it. I want to show the Swiss climbing community that we as the Swiss team are strong.

“My season is going great, probably the best one so far. I’ve been consistent and feel comfortable on the stage.”

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