Adam Ondra and Janja Garnbret win the first Bouldering World Cup of the 2019 season

The first bouldering world cup of the season in the sold-out arena in Meiringen was decided by the Czech Adam Ondra and the Slovenian Janja Garnbret. Petra Klingler took fifth place in Meiringen with a solid performance. Neither Germany nor Austria made it to the final last weekend.

The first bouldering world cup of the season was characterized by a strong starting field. Everything of rank and name took part in the competition. Once again it was striking how dominant the climbing nation Japan was. In the men's final, four of the six athletes were from the Asian country, and another athlete, Jongwon Chon, from Korea. Adam Ondra quipped during the interview before the final: "At least one European made it to the final."

An unknown face made it to the final

Among all the familiar faces of the finals, a stranger joined: the Australian Oceana Mackenzie. The 16-year-old drew with three tops in the final and finished with only a top the sixth final rank.

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Crack route made for decision in the men

Over the past year, you have repeatedly heard critical voices regarding the route style. With dynamic moves and jumps, this is moving more and more away from “classic” rock climbing. The boulders in Meiringen, on the other hand, offered a good mix of news school and old school. The last final boulder was even a classic crack through and through. While the Japanese athletes are always solid on the new style of bouldering, they dripped off in rows on the crack boulder. Adam Ondra came on the mat last and flashed the boulder. Rumor has it that he said after the final that the crack was only a 6a boulder if you could climb cracks. Fortunately, Adam Ondra was in the United States for a long time and was accordingly well versed in the field. With the flash ascent of the last final boulder, Adam Ondra won the first World Cup of the season.