More than 350 athletes representing 26 nations competed in Žilina, Slovakia, at the Youth European Championships in Lead and Speed. Across three days of competition – from Friday 29 to Sunday 31 – athletes in three age categories delivered an exciting weekend of Climbing.

FRANCE, ITALY, AND GERMANY TAKE SPEED GOLD

Two Italian climbers took gold in the women’s U17 and U19 event, with Alice Marcelli winning an Italian derby against Rebecca Belardinelli in the former category, and Sara Strocchi beating Kseniia Horielova of Ukraine in the latter.

In the gold medal race of the women’s U21 event, Paris 2024 Olympian Manon Lebon of France beat Agnese Fiorio of Italy.

Léo Grosset of France, fresh off a dominant season, confirmed his form once again by taking gold in the men’s U17 event against Switzerland’s Sofiane Vial — and continuing a remarkable year after winning all European Cups earlier in the season.

In the men’s U19 final, newly-crowned youth world champion Aodhan Umlauf of Germany returned to the top of the podium, with Tommaso Magni of Italy placing second. Jérôme Morel of France won his country’s second gold in the U21 category, beating Italy’s Marco Rontini in the gold medal race.

ALL THE SPEED PODIUMS

Women’s U17 Speed:

1. Alice MARCELLI (ITA)
2. Rebecca BELARDINELLI (ITA)
3. Maya WALTER (AUT)

Men’s U17 Speed:

1. Léo GROSSET (FRA)
2. Sofiane VIAL (SUI)
3. BORIS BECHEV (BUL)

Women’s U19 Speed:

1. Sara STROCCHI (ITA)
2. Kseniia HORIELOVA (UKR)
3. Eva MENGOLI (ITA)

Men’s U19 Speed:

1. Aodhan UMLAUF (GER)
2. Tommaso MAGNI (ITA)
3. Andrin ZEDLER (GER)

Women’s U21 Speed:

1. Manon LEBON (FRA)
2. Agnese FIORIO (ITA)
3. Louise FONTAINE (FRA)

Men’s U21 Speed:

1. Jérôme MOREL (FRA)
2. Marco RONTINI (ITA)
3. Denys MOZOLEVYCH (UKR)

SIX NATIONS FOR SIX LEAD GOLDS

In the Women’s U17 Women’s category, Aina Vila Cantero of Spain claimed her first-ever international gold medal, narrowly edging out her French rival Swann Lamblin-Burguet by just a plus.

Great Britain’s Connie Bridgens also celebrated her first international gold in the women’s U19 final, which also marked a two-medal success for Team GB with Lucy Garlick taking silver.

The women’s U21 final came down to one single holds, with Arina Jurcenko of Czechia narrowly taking the win ahead of Anastasiia Kobets of Ukraine.

Also taking gold by just one move was Yanik Chassain of Switzerland, winner of the men’s U17 Lead event ahead of Christian Leitner of Austria. Luca Nündel of Germany also took gold, winning the men’s U19 final thanks his better placement in the previous round, as both him and Akyan Etchar of France finished the final with the same score.

Victor Guillermin of France impressed the crowd by climbing all the way to the top of the men’s U21 final route. Despite timing out before the final move, his performance earned him 56 points and the gold medal. His teammate Matteo Soule joined him on the podium in second place, marking a French 1–2 finish.

ALL THE LEAD PODIUMS

Women’s U17 Lead:

1. Aina VILA CANTERO (ESP)
2. Swann LAMBLIN-BURGUET (FRA)
3. Milena CASETTA (SRB)

Men’s U17 Lead:

1. Yanik CHASSAIN (SUI)
2. Christian LEITNER (AUT)
3. Hypolite VILANOVA (FRA)

Women’s U19 Lead:

1. Connie BRIDGENS (GBR)
2. Lucy GARLICK (GBR)
3. Louise PUECH YAZID (FRA)

Men’s U19 Lead:

1. Luca NÜNDEL (GER)
2. Akyan ETCHAR (FRA)
3. Jan STIPEC (CZE)

Women’s U21 Lead:

1. Arina JURCENKO (CZE)
2. Anastasiia KOBETS (UKR)
3. Aleksandra TOTKOVA (BUL)

Men’s U21 Lead:

1. Victor GUILLERMIN (FRA)
2. Matteo SOULE (FRA)
3. Felix MADER (AUT)

MEDAL TABLE

France placed first in the overall medal table of the Youth European Championships Žilina 2025, finishing with four golds, three silvers, and three bronzes. Italy and Germany followed in second and third, while Czechia, Germany Spain, and Switzerland also filling the gold medal box.

NEXT UP

Three more Youth European Cups are set to take place before the end of the season: in Imst, Austria, from 13 to 14 September; in Laval, France, from 24 to 26 October; and in Toulouse Tournefeuille, France, from 31 October to 2 November.

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.