Quotes from the athletes at the Lead competition taking place in Alcobendas.
The IFSC Climbing World Cup in the Comunidad de Madrid, Spain hosted competitors from around the world at this year's fifth Lead World Cup competition. Here’s what some of the top-performing athletes had to say following each round.
LEAD FINALS
Annie Sanders of the USA—gold medallist with a top in the women's event:
"I'm honestly still in shock right now, I'm super excited to have executed well enough to win the gold," said Sanders at the end of the final. "I didn't know what to expect at the beginning of the season, but after the first Lead World Cup in China I know I was capable of doing this, and I'm glad it finally happened."
Laura Rogora of Italy—silver medallist with 48+ in the women's event:
"I'm happy, because I was a bit scared by the jump in the middle of the route. It was actually hard, so I was happy with holding onto it, and I climbed well until he last move.
"I was confidend when I started, I tried not to think about it to too much, and it worked."
Brooke Raboutou of the USA—bronze medallist with 48+ in the women's event:
"I'm really happy with my Climbing in final, I think this was the first time out my eight climbs since Chamonix that I really enjoyed myself and felt the flow and the whole atmosphere. I'm just happy with how I climbed and that it earned me a medal. I'm happy to be back!"
Lee Dohyun of South Korea—gold medallist with 40+ in the men's event:
"This feels unreal, I can't believe it, I'm just happy! When I finished my climb, I didn't think it was worth a gold medal, I would have expected fourth or fifth. It was a good experience for me.
"At the end of the Boulder season I was a bit confused, I was disappointed in myself for my results in finals. I started thinking about how to improve myself, everyday, also in Lead, I tried and did my best. Now I'm happy."
Alberto Ginés López of Spain—silver medallist with 40 in the men's event:
"I think this was one of the hardest competitions of my life, already since qualification. I was shaking so bad before the first route. Dealing with the pressure was such a big challenge, I'm happy I could deal with it and perform pretty well. Being so close, the closest I've been in my life, hurts. It wasn't meant to be today, but I know it will be soon.
"I think the pressure came both from the fact that I was climbing at home, and that I went very close at the last event in Chamonix. If I didn't do that well in Chamonix, people would not have expected that much from me, but almost everyone, including myself, was expecting and wanted a win here. But this second place feels like heaven, fifth medal of the season, second silver in a row, I can't be sad with this. And the Cup will be decided in Koper, Satone and I are very close, hopefully I can win there."
Yoshid Satone of Japan—bronze medallist with 39+ in the men's event:
"I'm not completeley satisfied with the bronze, because I was very close to the win. I did my best.
"I was quite relaxed before the final. When I woke up my back was so-and-so because of the incident, but the final was around the corner, so I stayed positive."
LEAD SEMI-FINALS
Rosa Rekar of Slovenia—fifth with 43+ in the women's event:
"Before I started climbing I was nervous because of the press move, but once I did the move I was able to relax a little bit and fight, which I’m really happy about. I feel super happy about being in final again, I’m excited for tomorrow."
Lee Dohyun of South Korea—sixth with 45+ in the men's event:
"I liked the flow in my body while I climbed the route. I’m very satisfied with my performance. Weather was hot, but dry, so I was not too sweaty, my hands were good."
LEAD QUALIFICATIONS
Kim Jain of South Korea—eighth with 37+ and 47+ in the women's event:
"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."
Yoshida Satone of Japan—first with 43+ and top in the men's event:
"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."
PRE EVENT
Lucía Sempere González of Spain:
“I’m nervous. It’s my first World Cup so I’m also really, really excited. I’m excited to compete with the big names in our sport from around the world, but that also makes me really, really nervous. I don’t feel any pressure though as it’s my first World Cup, so that’s fine.
“It's really important for us because here in Spain there’s not a lot of visibility of Sport Climbing so I think it’s really good for our country and our team. People can see that we exist, and that’s really good for us.
“Us Spanish people, we are so crazy, so I think the crowd will be so good and they will shout a lot. It’s going to be hot, but the crowd is going to be amazing.”
