BACK TO BRIXEN FOR BOULDER
With the IFSC World Cup events coming thick and fast, the circuit moves on to Brixen, Italy, for the sixth event of the season from 9 to 11 June 2023.
Taking place at the Vertikale Kletterzentrum Brixen for the second consecutive year, the focus is once again on Boulder as the climbers move from Prague, Czech Republic, last weekend to Northern Italy this weekend.
Returning to Brixen are the full podiums of both the men’s and women’s competition from its debut outing in 2022.
In the men’s competition, last year’s gold medallist Yannick Flohé of Germany will be joined by silver medallist Maximillian Milne of Great Britain and Narasaki Tomoa of Japan who took bronze.
The three are among 96 competitors registered to start, a start list that also includes South Korea’s 20-year-old Lee Dohyun, who was on fire last week taking the IFSC World Cup Prague title, and the man he beat to gold, Adam Ondra from the Czech Republic.
Just like the men, the women’s 2022 podium is in attendance with gold medallist Natalia Grossman of the USA, silver medallist Hannah Meul of Germany and bronze medallist Luo Zhilu of China among the 86 registered entrants.
Looking to carry on medal winning ways will be France’s Flavy Cohaut who makes the trip from Prague with a World Cup bronze as part of her luggage.
There will be a fair bit of local interest for the home crowds with the Italian team fielding 13 climbers in Brixen.
One of those is 21-year-old Camilla Moroni. Moroni has experienced standing on a podium in Brixen when she won silver at the Youth European Championships in 2019, but the Italian climber is focussing on a different goal than medals.
Talking about her preparation for the season, Moroni said: “My winter training went well. I had the opportunity to move to Milan with the Italian team to improve the quality of my training and it really helped.”
Despite the training, Moroni feels things could have gone a little bit better competition-wise: “The World Cups haven’t gone as I wanted so far because I have had some health issues – I have had tonsillitis twice now.
“Because of this, and then adding on the flights and jetlag, I haven’t been able to train as I’ve wanted. I’ve often felt tired during training for more than a month. For these reasons, I don’t feel my physical shape is the best.”
With an honest assessment of her current condition, Moroni is realistic about what she can achieve in Brixen: “I know that I’m not at 100% so I don’t think I can aim for the final. My goal is to improve the results of the first two World Cups.”
Although not aiming for the finals, there is always the added boost you get from a home crowd to add into the equation: “It’s amazing to climb in front of the Italian public,” said Moroni, “I’ll try to climb at my best to fulfil the expectations of my home crowd.”
IFSC World Cup Brixen 2023 begins at 09:00 (UTC+2:00) tomorrow, 9 June, with the women’s Boulder qualification round before the men are in action for their qualification at 16:00.
Camilla Moroni of Italy competes at the IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City 2023
Photo: Slobodan Miskovic/IFSC
