This weekend, Germany's best lead climbers will compete for the national titles in Darmstadt. Last year's winners, Anna Apel and Yannick Nagel, are also registered. Find all the information about the starting field, schedule, and livestream of the 2026 German Lead Climbing Championships here.
Following the international season finale in Chile last week, the national lead climbing competition year is now also coming to an end. This weekend, the 75 competitors have the chance to win the titles of German Champion. The climbing will take place on... October 31st and November 1st in the DAV section Darmstadt-Starkenburg.
The starting places for the German Championships (DM) are allocated via the three regions of North-East, South, and West – each region sends eight athletes per gender. In addition, the reigning German Champion and the members of the current national squad are also included. The DM is also for the Squad nomination 2027 Important: Those who impress in Darmstadt can gather important arguments for a place in the national squad.
In this article
Nagel vs. Flohé: Two Yannicks as title favorites
Our preview of Yannick Nagel (DAV Mannheim) The reigning German champion travels to Darmstadt to defend his title – it would be his third victory overall. The 20-year-old soldier-athlete reached the semifinals of the Lead World Cup in Santiago, Chile, just last weekend. Prior to that, he finished sixth at the European Championships in Laval.
At the German Championships, Nagel's strongest competitor shares the same first name: Yannick Flohe (DAV Aachen) will also compete in Darmstadt this weekend, after skipping the German Championships in 2025. The Olympic climber has already won the German Lead Climbing Championship title three times: in 2021, 2023, and 2024.
According to the Alpine Club, the extended list of favorites also includes... Erik Pollak (DAV Wetzlar), the runner-up of 2025, and Philipp Göthert (DAV Rheinland-Köln), who secured bronze last year. This means the entire podium from the last Lead German Championships is competing in the men's event. Representing the host section Darmstadt-Starkenburg are... Laurin Becker, Ole Reusch and Moritz Kohlenberger Three local big names are in the running.
Defending champion Anna Apel is considered the favorite in the women's field.
The German champion of 2025 will also be competing in the women's category: Anna Maria Apel (DAV Munich & Oberland) climbed at the World Cup in Chile just a week ago, just like Yannick Nagel. To secure her third consecutive national title this weekend in Darmstadt, the 21-year-old will once again have to compete against... Ronja Witt (Saxon Mountaineering Association) claim, who won silver in Neu-Ulm last year. Also the third-place finisher from 2025, Annika Müller (DAV Augsburg) is registered for this year's German Championships.
The host section represents Josephine Ling, Eva Windirsch and Roxana Wienand, who reached the semi-finals twice in the World Cup this season.
Schedule, Tickets & Livestream
The qualifying rounds will take place on Saturday. The German championship titles will be decided on Sunday in the semifinals and finals.
- Saturday, 31.10.2026
12:00 p.m.: Men's qualification
16:00 p.m.: Women's qualification - Sunday, 01.11.2026
11:00 AM: Women's & Men's Semi-finals
17:00 PM: Women's & Men's Finals
Spectators can watch the qualifying rounds on Saturday for free. Tickets are required for the semifinals and finals on Sunday. Tickets are available at the DAV Climbing Center in Darmstadt. Anyone unable to make it to Darmstadt this weekend can watch the event live on [website/platform name]. Sporteurope.tv. or in the stream of the Hessian Broadcasting cheering them on.
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Credits for cover photo: Jens Klatt/DAV