The 2019 Climbing World Cup Season Nears the End
The IFSC Climbing World Cup returns to China for the third time this year with both speed and lead competitions taking place from October 18 to 20 in Xiamen.
Speed World Cup Season Winners to be Crowned
It’s been a few months since the last speed competition in Chamonix, but the athletes have not been idle with two Speed Climbing World Champions were crowned in Hachioji, Italian Ludovico FOSSALI and Aleksandra MIROSLAW of Poland.
France’s Bassa MAWAM currently sits at the top of the men’s speed rankings and is poised to defend his 2018 Speed Season win. However, Vladislav DEULIN and Dmitrii TIMOFEEV of Russia are not far behind and fresh from their recent first and third place podiums at the 2019 European Championship held earlier this month.
After setting a new women’s speed climbing world record earlier this year, China’s YiLing SONG has continued to perform strongly throughout the season and holds the lead in the women’s overall rankings. Will she be able to unseat the reigning 2018 Speed World Cup season winner, Anouck JAUBERT (FRA), in front of her home crowd to claim the season for herself?
The Pressure is on in Lead
With two Lead World Cups left in 2019, there is still time for the climbers to move their way up the rankings in hopes
of landing on the overall season podium. Newcomer, Chaehyun SEO (KOR) holds a tentative first place position on the overall podium, but one more win from her in Xiamen would solidify her season win before the final event of the year. After a disappointing outcome in her home country in September, Slovenian Janja GARNBRET is expected to participate in the upcoming event alongside her compatriots Mia KRAMPL and Lucka RAKOVEC. The three of them currently sit in the second, third and fourth place spots in the rankings respectively.
In only one event, Adam ONDRA (CZE) jumped from a seventh-place position in the ranking to first after his win in Kranj. With Alexander MEGOS (GER) not competing in Xiamen, the top spots are open for the taking. However, the battle for the season title remains tight and a gold medal win in the penultimate Lead World Cup of 2019 could prove crucial to landing on the final podium of the year.
Live Streaming
The IFSC Climbing World Cup Xiamen 2019 will be available to watch on the IFSC homepage on October 19 and 20 for the semi-final and final rounds. Visit the Xiamen event page for the complete schedule, starter list, and last year’s replays. Don’t forget to join the chat on Twitter during the competition using the hashtag, #IFSCwc.
