GROSSMAN, NONAKA SHINE IN WOMEN’S BOULDER QUALIFICATION
Day one of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Salt Lake City 2023 commenced this morning with the women’s Boulder qualification round.
Climbing on home turf, and coming from an 11th place at the IFSC World Cup in Seoul, South Korea, Natalia Grossman of the USA managed to flash all five boulders, taking the top of the ranking in group A.
“I’ve been dealing with some stomach stuff, which is hard to deal with when you’re traveling,” said Grossman after her performance. “It’s just really nice to be home and be able to do what I normally do. My one goal for tomorrow is to focus on the present, enjoy it, and have fun.
Also in first place in the overall ranking is Nonaka Miho of Japan – who took gold in Seoul at the end of April, and finished atop the table in group B with five tops in seven attempts: “I’m very happy about my round, I love being here, the vibes are very good in Salt Lake City, I enjoyed it a lot,” Nonaka said.
“I don’t know if I would say I feel at home here, I definitely feel comfortable, I usually stay for a longer time, and the crowd is really enjoyable.”
Three more climbers will represent Team USA in tomorrow’s semi-final alongside Grossman: Tokyo 2020 Olympians Brooke Raboutou and Kyra Condie, and Anastasia Sanders. Nonaka, on the other hand, will be joined by teammates Sekikawa Melody, Ito Futaba, Nakagawa Ryu, and Aoyagi Mia.
Among the ones who shined the most in the women’s Boulder qualification round are Ukraine’s Ievgeniia Kazbekova, France’s Fanny Gibert, Italy’s Camilla Moroni, and Australia’s Oceania Mackenzie.
“I wasn’t sure if I had done enough, because the round felt quite easy compared to the two previous World Cups, so missing the top on the fifth problem worried me a little bit. I’m still recovering from a cold I caught last week, but I’m feeling pretty good so far, and my skin is good,” commented Mackenzie.
For the women’s Boulder qualification full results click here.
The IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City 2023 will continue this afternoon with the men’s Boulder qualification round, starting at 15:30 (UC-6:00).
News and updates about the event will be available on the IFSC website and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Weibo and Douyin.
Oceania Mackenzie finished her round with four tops and five zones, advancing to the semi-final round
Photo: Slobodan Miskovic/IFSC
