Last weekend, the competitive athletes met in the Chinese metropolis of Tai'an. The gold medal for the men surprisingly went to the Israeli Alex Khazanov and, less surprisingly, Akiyo Noguchi to the women.
At the second Bouldering World Cup in the last two weeks, the winner from Meiringen was back at the front. Jernej Kruder, who was always in the final this season, won the silver medal in Tai'an. The Israeli Alex Khazanov, who had never been in a final before, was already quite pleased that he made it to the semifinals. He would never have thought that he would make it to the final and be on top of the podium at the end of the competition. Alex won an IFSC World Cup for the first time with three tops, which no one else could. The best placement for the German men went to Jan Hojer with 7th place and Jakob Schubert for the Austrians with 12th place.
Johanna Färber just past the podium
There was also not enough for a medal for the German and Austrian women this weekend. The closest to the podium was 20-year-old Johanna Färber with 5th place. The best place among the German women was taken by Alma Bestvater with 23rd place. The top ranks were occupied by other well-known names, such as Fanny Gibert. The Frenchwoman was on the podium for the third time this season and climbed to third place with two tops in Tai'an. Miho Nonaka, who finished 1st, 2nd and 2nd in the first three competitions of the season, virtually managed the silver medal hat trick in Tai'an. Even in Chongqing, Akiyo Noguchi from Japan could hardly be stopped. That didn't change in Ta'an either. She flashed all qualification boulders, topped all boulders in the competition and only needed five attempts for the final boulders.
The highlights of the Bouldering World Cup in Tai'an
The pictures of the Bouldering World Cup in Tai'an
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Credits: pictures IFSC / Forrest Liu