SCHUBERT EMBRACES THE NERVES TO TOP MEN’S LEAD QUALIFICATION
A big day three in Bern for the IFSC Climbing World Championships began the men aiming to qualify in the Lead discipline.
Of the 125 climbers looking to stay in with a shot at a podium, 27 actually made it out and into the semi-finals on 6 August with a three-way tie in 25th upping the number from the usual 26 to progress.
Top of the list from group A was Austria’s Jakob Schubert who felt he had a mixed session, with nerves playing a part in that: “I started on a very sketchy one, the blue one. It was way harder at the beginning than I thought, it almost felt like having a cramp on that route, it really didn’t feel good.
“On the first route you always want to climb controlled and have a safe start, and I felt like I couldn’t control any of the moves and had to fight to get a good performance. Luckily it was still good enough. Then on the second route you can always climb will a lot less pressure if you have a good first and I did that. I could get into a better flow, and I had a lot more fun on the second.
“I still get nervous, it’s part of competing. It’s the World Championship, there’s a lot on the line and you want to do well and the nervous never go away. But they are also important as it helps you perform and do well. I’m still just as nervous, but now I have more strategies on how to cope with the nerves.”
Sharing top spot in group B was Japan’s Anraku Sorato and France’s Sam Avezou.
There will be lots of the home crowds of Switzerland to cheer in the semi-finals with Sascha Lehmann in fourth, Nino Grünenfelder in 11th and Jonas Utelli in 19th all progressing.
Sitting in the seventh position, the Czech Republic’s Adam Ondra said: “I really liked the wall. I think the Lead routes were pretty mixed with a mixture of resistance and some bouldering moves. I was feeling quite good, but I felt I made a few mistakes, and I could have gone a bit higher, but I think it’s a good position for semi-finals, in both Boulder and Lead. Hopefully I didn’t get that tired as it’s the Boulder semi-finals tomorrow.”
Going through in ninth position was Olympic champion Alberto Ginés López of Spain who will be joined by the World Cup appearance record holder Canada’s Sean McColl who is participating in his ninth World Championships.
The three-way tie at 25th sees Italy’s Marcello Bombardi, South Korea’s Lee Dohyun and China’s Pan Yufei all into the semi-finals which take place on 6 August.
Full men’s Lead qualification results can be found here
Later today attention turns back to the women who start their Boulder competition.
Jakob Schubert (AUT) competes in men's Lead qualification
Photo: Lena Drapella/IFSC
