For the second year in a row, the strongest boulderer at the IFSC World Cup in Prague is Dohyun Lee. The Korean won the final against Manuel Cornu and Toby Roberts. In the women's event, Natalia Grossman won in an emotional final ahead of Naïlé Meignan and Oceania Mackenzie.
The men's bouldering final at the IFSC World Cup in Prague 2024 was evenly matched and hard-fought until the last boulder. In the end, it was South Korean Dohyun Lee, gold medalist at last year's event in Prague, who celebrated his second World Cup gold on the same stage.
I love Prague! I can't believe I won here again!
Dohyun Lee
Boulder three decisive
"I'm just very happy! There were some tricky moves in the final, some boulders were complicated for me, but I did my best and it paid off," said the 21-year-old Paris 2024 Olympian, who finished his final with two tops and four zones.
Since the two boulders number two and three turned out to be insurmountable for all six finalists, the zone that Lee secured on M13 in his 3th attempt was crucial for his lead over Frenchman Manuel Cornu.
French veteran back on podium
Experienced French climber Manuel Cornu finished second with two tops and three zones, finally standing on an IFSC podium five years after his last World Cup podium – in 2019 in Chongqing, China.
Cornu's joy was correspondingly great: "It's crazy, isn't it? It definitely feels crazy. I don't have many words to say tonight. I've had a long, difficult phase. A year ago, here in Prague, the first words I said to my coach after the qualifying round were: 'It's over for me'. And now I'm standing here on the podium."
He didn't think it was possible that both Sorato Anraku and Tomoa Narasaki would fall on the fourth boulder. "So I was pretty sure that I would reach fourth place. I was very surprised."
Roberts doesn’t let up
Paris 2024 winner Toby Roberts finished third and took bronze with two tops and two zones. "I'm so excited! It was a strange final, I never thought I could be on the podium, but I didn't give up, was able to pull myself together and climb to the top on the last boulder."
Paris 2024 silver medalist Anraku Sorato of Japan was just outside the medal positions with one top and four zones, finishing fourth. His teammate Tomoa Narasaki followed in fifth place, also with one top and four zones, while Adam Ondra finished the final with one top and three zones in front of his home crowd.
After a difficult start, Grossman turns up the heat
The race for the overall victory in the 2024 Women's Bouldering World Cup has become even more exciting after Natalia Grossman's victory in Prague. The American won in an emotional final ahead of Naïlé Maignan from France and Oceania Mackenzie from Australia.
Grossman's final did not start well, as the US climber only found the top of final boulder number 1 after nine attempts and missed the chance to secure the top of W2. However, her flash on boulder number three brought her back into the race.
I knew what the intended beta was, but I was way too tired, so I found my own way.
Natalia Grossman
Grossman ended up being the only finalist to top boulder number four and finish the final with three tops and four zones. For the American, it is already the 11th gold medal at a Boulder World Cup: "This victory means so much to me, more than any other victory I've had recently. It means that I can do it if I believe in myself."
Also on the podium were Frenchwoman Naïlé Maignan – second with two tops and four zones – and Australian Oceania Mackenzie – third with two tops and three zones. Japanese woman Matsufuji Anon came fourth. Frenchwoman Zélia Avezou and Japanese woman Nakamura Mao took fifth and sixth places.
Grossman takes the lead in the overall World Cup
With her victory in Prague, Grossman also climbed to the top of the provisional overall ranking of the women's bouldering World Cup, level on points with Slovenia's Janja Garnbret. The 23-year-old from Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah has already won the World Cup Series three times in a row.
If she wins again in 2024, she can draw level with Anna Stöhr from Austria and Noguchi Akiyo from Japan, who have each won four trophies. Only the Frenchwoman Sandrine Levet has won more overall World Cups with five titles.
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Credits: Cover picture Dimitris Tosidis / IFSC