SALT LAKE CITY AWARDS FINAL GOLD MEDALS TO NARASAKI AND LEONARDO
The fourth leg of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2023 concluded tonight in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, and the two golds at stake were awarded to Narasaki Tomoa of Japan in the men’s Boulder event, and Veddriq Leonardo of Indonesia in the men’s Speed one.
MEN’S BOULDER
A spectacular, high-scoring Boulder round pleased the crowd that gathered at Pioneer Park in a hot and sunny afternoon.
Japanese duo Narasaki Tomoa and Anraku Sorato battled all along the men’s Boulder final, both finishing with four tops, but being separated by a different number of attempts. Indeed, Narasaki flashed both problems number one and four, eventually winning gold with six attempts to top. Competing in his first Boulder final round, Sorato won silver with 12 attempts to top.
Also participating in his first Boulder final, Great Britain’s Toby Roberts took bronze with a brilliant performance, only failing to solve the first slab problem, and concluding with three tops, four zones and the bronze medal around his neck.
“I am very satisfied with my first gold medal coming in Salt Lake City, and I would like to thank the audience for the amazing support,” said Narasaki.
For the men’s Boulder event complete results click here.
MEN’S SPEED
The fourth and conclusive act of the event was the men’s Speed final, which sealed an exciting week of Paraclimbing and Climbing in Salt Lake City.
In the gold medal race, Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo signed the fastest time of the round – 4.95 seconds – besting China’s Wu Peng, who slipped in the first part of the climb and took silver with 6.99.
Leonardo’s teammate Kiromal Katibin overcame a foot injury occurred during the knockout round and pocketed the bronze medal. The former world record holder stopped the clock at 4.98, winning the race against crowd favourite Samuel Watson, who ended up in fourth position with 5.98.
Leonardo said: “I am very happy and very grateful, because it is my third gold medal here in Salt Lake City. I hope that the next World Cup events can be successful too.”
For the men’s Speed event complete results click here.
The IFSC World Cup Series 2023 will now move to Europe, where a busy couple of months will bring the best climbers in the world to compete in Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France.
News and updates about all IFSC 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.
L/R: Narasaki Tomoa of Japan, Veddriq Leonardo of Indonesia
Photo: Slobodan Miskovic/IFSC
