CLIMBERS FROM SIX DIFFERENT COUNTRIES WILL COMPETE IN THE MEN’S BOULDER FINAL
The second competition day at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Prague 2023 commenced with the men’s Boulder semi-final, selecting the top six athletes out of the 20 participating, and moving them into tonight’s final round.
Flashing the first three problems of the round, and securing the zone on the fourth slab boulder, Lee Dohyun of South Korea secured the top position, and will compete for what would be his first-ever World Cup gold. The only other climber topping three boulders was Ogata Yoshiyuki of Japan, who placed second.
Competing in the first Boulder semi-final of his career, Jan-Luca Posch of Austria earned himself his first Boulder final appearance, taking fourth place with two tops and four zones.
“I can’t really believe it, it was my first semi-final and I didn’t really expect to make the final, especially with all these strong climbers competing. I’m just so happy,” said Posch. “Tonight I’m only going to have fun, no expectations, and see what the result is afterwards.”
Competing in front of his home crowd, six-time World Cup gold medallist Adam Ondra of the Czech Republic also advanced to the final round, closing with two tops and three zones.
“This is a dream! I knew this was going to be a very, very difficult round, the setting is getting so much harder every season and it just came down to so many little details, where I was just a little luckier than the other climbers,” he said.
“I think there is now a really nice mix of different climbers, who have different strengths and weaknesses. It’s exciting even if I don’t compete and just watch it from home, but it is even more to be here and be able to compete.”
Also into tonight’s final are Mejdi Schalck of France – third with two tops and four zones, and Yannick Flohé of Germany – sixth with two and three.
For the first time since the IFSC World Cup Munich 2019, athletes from six different countries will be battling for the three medals at stake.
The men’s Boulder final is scheduled to begin at 20:00 (UTC+2:00), and it will be live streamed on the IFSC YouTube channel, with geographic restriction applied. For more information about where to watch the IFSC World Cup Series 2023 please click here.
News and updates about the IFSC event are available on the IFSC website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin and Weibo.
Mejdi Schalck of France has won the first two men's Boulder gold medals this year, at Hachioji 2023 and Seoul 2023
Photo: Jan Virt/IFSC
