TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIANS SEO AND NARASAKI SHINE IN PARIS 2024 FORMAT DISPLAY
The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Asian Championships in Seoul, South Korea, closed with the second, official display of the Boulder & Lead event that will be contested at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Earlier this year, Janja Garnbret of Slovenia and Jakob Schubert of Austria pocketed the gold medal in the new format at the European Championships Munich 2022.
Tokyo 2020 Olympians Seo Chaehyun of South Korea and Narasaki Tomoa of Japan respectively won their second and third gold medal of the Championships.
In the women’s event, Seo scored 77.5 points in the Boulder round, then topping the Lead route and finishing with 177.5. It is the second continental title won by the 18-year-old talent in her hometown. Only separated by a bunch of attempts to tops, Tanii Natsuki of Japan won silver with 176.6 points, being the only other climber able to top the Lead route.
Ito Futaba, also of Japan, completed the podium in third position, pocketing the bronze medal with 158.0 points – 77.9 in the Boulder round, 80.1 in the Lead one.
Iran’s Elnaz Rekabi finished fourth, followed by Aoyagi Mia and Koike Hana, both representing Japan, who took fifth and sixth place. Luo Zhilu of China concluded in seventh place, while South Korea’s second final participant – Oh Gayeong – closed in eighth position.
For the full results of the women’s Boulder & Lead event click here.
At the end of a neck-and-neck battle with Japan’s Fujii Kokoro and South Korea’s Lee Dohyun, Narasaki Tomoa, also of Japan, claimed first place in the men’s Boulder & Lead event, as he finished with 177.3 points and secured his third title of the Championships. Indeed, the 26-year-old Japanese star had previously won gold in both Boulder and Lead events.
After a disappointing Boulder round, where he finished with 77.3 points, Narasaki climbed second-to-last in the decisive Lead one, with only one chance to move into first place: secure the top hold. After Fujii fell a couple of moves before the top, Narasaki climbed great, securing 100 points and taking the lead.
Fujii eventually placed second with 175.7 points, Lee finished in third place with 167.2.
Japan’s Homma Taisei, and Yoshida Satone followed in fourth and fifth position. Ogata only grabbed 40.1 points in the Lead round and concluded in sixth place. Chon Jongwon of South Korea finished seventh, and Reza Kolasangian of Iran took eighth place.
For the full results of the women’s Boulder & Lead event click here.
The 2022 Climbing season will now move to Japan, where the final IFSC World Cup event is scheduled in Morioka, Iwate, from 20 to 22 October.
News and updates about the event will be available on the IFSC official website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.
