Lead qualifications at the IFSC Climbing World Cup Comunidad de Madrid 2025 presented some impressive performances across both the women's and men's event, with seasoned champions and rising stars climbing side by side at the Recinto Ferial Alcobendas, in the Madrid Community.

GINÉS LÓPEZ HEADLINES QUARTET IN MEN’S FIELD

Spain’s Olympic gold medallist Alberto Ginés López delighted the home crowd by finishing at the top of the men’s Lead qualifications, tying with three Japanese athletes at the end of an incredibly tight round. Ginés López, along with Yoshida Satone, Suzuki Neo, and Anraku Sorato—all representing Japan—all scored 43+ on the first route and topped the second, securing their places in the semi-final round in joint first place.

Yoshida, a first-time World Cup winner at the Climbing World Cup Bali 2025, commented: "I'm in good shape. It's kind of hot, hotter than I expected. So I was struggling on the second route, but the first one is really good. I still have some time before the same-final, so I think I'm going to take a nap and be ready for it. And hopefully it will be a bit cooler."

For the men’s Lead qualification complete results click here.

ROGORA AND SEO LEAD THE WAY

In the women’s Lead event, it was Laura Rogora of Italy and Seo Chaehyun of South Korea who dominated, each earning two tops to take joint first place heading into the semi-finals. Erin McNeice of Great Britain placed third after topping the first route and scoring 47+ on the second, while Brooke Raboutou of the USA claimed fourth with a strong top on her second route and 42+ on the first.

Also making headlines was South Korea’s Kim Jain, who placed eighth in her first World Cup appearance of the season with scores of 37+ and 47+.

Kim said: "I've been training in South Korea because I couldn't make it to the national team. We have just one competition for the selection and I did screw up in the final, my foot slipped. It was a big mistake for me. I wanted to join the World Cup circuit, but there's no space to participate before Madrid. At first, I got so nervous. Route two was way better for me, I think, I really wanted to top on route one, but I couldn't. I'm satisfied that I got to the semi-final."

For the women’s Lead qualification complete results click here.

NEXT UP

Day one at the IFSC Climbing World Cup Comunidad de Madrid 2025 will conclude with Lead semi-finals, kicking off at 21:00 (UTC+2:00). Finals are scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, 19 July, starting at 20:30.

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, Bilibili, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.