At the Boulder World Cup in Hachioji, Japan, Japanese athletes dominated as usual. A surprise was provided by the Italian Gabriele Moroni, who climbed onto the podium. With the win in Hachioji Moroni gets for the first time a gold medal at a World Cup after 14 years competition circus.
We are used to the fact that the athletes with the blue and black shirts are omnipresent at international competitions. In Hachioji, however, the Japanese pushed it to the top again. Eleven athletes were in the semi-final, six in the final. Akiyo Noguchi topped all problems of the qualifying round and mastered all four semi-final boulders in the first attempt. The fourfold bouldering champion was the first problem of the finals and only fell at the second final boulder. Hot on the heels was her teammate Miho Nonaka, who took second place at the end of the day.
The bronze medal was won by Russian Ekaterina Kipriianova, who celebrated her first World Cup podium finish in third place. An outstanding performance was achieved by the German Alma Bestvater, who took fifth place in the strong top field. The best place for the Austrians was Johanna Färber (19 rank). For the Swiss athletes it was Jara Späte with the 31. Rank.
Mastered boulder sovereign
The highlights of the Bouldering World Cup in Hachioji
The top ranks at a glance
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Credits: Cover picture Eddie Fowke - IFSC