The IFSC Climbing World Cup in Curitiba, Brazil, marked a historic moment for the sport as the first-ever World Cup held on South American soil. Here’s what some of the top-performing athletes had to say following each round.

WOMEN'S BOULDER FINAL

Naïlé Maignan of France – 99.6 points, first:

“It feels amazing to win in my first competition of the year. I wasn’t expecting to be this good, but for sure it feels great.

“I was a bit tense on the first boulder, but then I felt more confident and was able to flash the following three problems.

“I will compete in Salt Lake City now, and it would be great to win another medal there!”

Camilla Moroni of Italy – 83.8 points, third:

"I feel so good. This is actually my first bronze medal, so now the only one that is missing is the gold. I'm not sure I will be able to get that in Salt Lake City, I will be a bit tired, but I will try my best.

"French and Japanese climbers are very strong and actually, after the last boulder, I didn't expect to be third because I thought I missed the chance on the first one. But I was still in the game, and I didn't know.

"I'm super satisfied to be on the podium with two French climbers. It was hard to train for me this winter because I didn't have the same facilities I had last year before the Olympics. So I moved two months in France and one month in Japan for training. I mean, I moved in with the best to try to learn from them."

WOMEN'S BOULDER SEMI-FINAL

Nekaia Sanders of the USA – 44.6 points, eighth:

“This is my first ever semi at my fourth World Cup. I’m kind of mind blown right now.

"Honestly, this is only the second time I’ve ever cried in iso. It was such a hard round and I had so much fun on the boulders and I’m clearly very excited.

About her expectations for the final: "None. None at all. I’m just so, so happy to be there. I’m still trying not to cry again!”

Madison Richardson of Canada – 39.8 points, 11th:

"Semi was really good. There's often semis where I don't zone a boulder or I feel like the level isn't there for me. But this one, I felt like everything was super possible. I got really close on a whole bunch of boulders. I don't feel any disappointment or, like, 'I wish I could have done that'. I think it was just a really solid round.

"I wasn't in China this year, so this is my first event. My qualification was quite poor for my standards. So I had to push that out of my mind to get a clear head for the semi, and I think I did that."

MEN'S BOULDER FINAL

Anraku Sorato of Japan – 69.7 points, first:

"I'm very happy for my second World Cup gold in a row, but I wanted to send boulder number four... I rested a lot on my attempts because I had no power left, but I felt confident.

"I'm not thinking about winning the Series, I will focus on one event at a time, so now it's time to focus on Salt Lake City."

Mejdi Schalck of France – 58.9 points, second:

"This medal has a crazy taste because everything I have done in my training has paid off. But I'm a bit frustrated for not winning this one because I really wanted it. And I think I was in the good spirit to win.

"I'm 10 times stronger when the crowd is pushing me and I feel a connection with them like this time in final, it was just crazy. People were screaming my name, and every time I was tellin the crowd to cheer me, they were going crazy. Especially on the last boulder, I was in my flow, it was crazy."

MEN’S BOULDER SEMI-FINAL

Anze Peharc of Slovenia – 59.4 points, fifth:

“I must say I’m really happy with my climbing, I finally managed to compose myself and show my best. Maybe boulder number two wasn’t my best performance because I chose the wrong beta for five minutes, so I didn’t even try the right solution.

"Overall, I felt relaxed. The atmosphere was really good and I managed to show my best.”

Amagasa Sohta of Japan ­– 59.2 points, sixth:

“I felt it’s been a hard round for me. On the first boulder I didn't do very well. I was nervous, but I reset my mind and focused on two, three and four.

“I went so close on the last boulder. I followed the last move, and if I could get the top, maybe I would feel a lot happier!

“First time I tried boulder number four, I thought it's not my style, but I knew that if I could get the zone or even the top, maybe I can go to the final.

“ I want to enjoy the final, and I want to get to the podium again. Last year I won a gold medal, and I want to get another one.”

WOMEN’S BOULDER QUALIFICATION

Camilla Moroni – 109.8 points, joint third:

“Qualification was good, maybe not the hardest round, but I felt good. I’m happy with my performance.

“I was a bit nervous because China was hard for me as I didn’t feel so good. So this one felt like the first comp of the season for me.

“Being here in Brazil is a good experience. It’s a new new country unlocked. And I really like the Climbing community here, it’s very excited, so I think it will be good for a semis and finals.”

Sofya Yokoyama – 79.1 points, 15th:

“Qualification was okay, could have gone better. I fell off on the last move on three boulders, topped two. Hopefully it’s enough for the next round. I climbed hard, tried hard, and I guess if it doesn’t work…

“It’s really cool being here in South America. The vibes here are nice and there’s already so many people in qualis watching. So, for now I’m quite impressed. The city is really cute and I had so much fun already, great trip!”

MEN’S BOULDER QUALIFICATION

Jan-Luca Posch – 83.3 points, 15th:

“I climbed well and calm, that’s the most important thing, I did what I had to do and I’m quite happy with the result.

“Being here in South America is really cool. Crowd here is really loud, so it’s fun.

“I was 17th in Keqiao, it was okay, but not the result that I hoped for. My goal is to be in the top-10 or even make it to the final, so I hope that I can improve here. I just made some small adjustments, like concentration on the wall and not doing too many mistakes, but nothing too big.”