This weekend in Santiago, Chile, climbers will compete for medals – and the overall ranking – for the last time this World Cup season. It is only the second World Cup event to be held in South America.
In this article
Lead: To win the last medals and points in the overall ranking
The Lead World Cup in Santiago, Chile, will see climbers compete for the final medals of the season as well as the last points in the overall ranking. However, the women's season champion has already been determined: Annie Sanders Although the USA is not starting in Chile, it is uncatchably ahead with 4.415 points.
Also the second-place finisher in the season rankings, Chaehyun Seo (South Korea) is not registered for this weekend. It can only be accessed from Janja Garnbret, currently in third place, will be displaced. The Slovenian is registered for the final World Cup of the season – as is her teammate. Rosa Rekar, who is the only other female climber still in the running for the overall podium in Santiago de Chile.
Only newcomers can still compete in the men's category. Putra Tri Ramadani (Indonesia) the current first-placed Neo Suzuki (Japan) can only catch up now – for that to happen, the Indonesian would have to climb to silver or gold, and Suzuki would have to miss out on the top 30. The Japanese climber is therefore rightly considered the favorite in the race for the overall lead title. Alberto Ginés López, Satone Yoshida, Sorato Anraku, Luka Potocar, and Sam Avezou still have a chance at bronze.
Image: Dimitris Tosidis/World Climbing
Image: Jan Virt/World Climbing
Other notable starters at the Lead World Cup in Santiago de Chile: Yufei Pan (China), Sean McColl (Canada), Sascha Lehmann (Switzerland) and Nathaniel Coleman (USA) in the men's category, and Oceania Mackenzie (Australia), Mattea Pötzi (Austria), Laura Rogora (Italy), Miho Nonaka (Japan) in the women's category.
The first Lead World Cup in South America will also feature numerous athletes from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay or Venezuela.
Speed climbing: End of a record-breaking season
A particularly spectacular speed season will reach its grand finale in Santiago, Chile. The top three finishers in both the women's and men's World Cups are registered, including the two current world record holders. Yicheng Zhao (China) and Emma Hunt (USA).
Zhao broke the record twice this year (including once his own), which currently stands at 4,54 seconds for men. Hunt holds the current women's world record with a time of 5,99 seconds – at the World Cup in Krakow, she became the first woman ever to climb 15 meters in under 6 seconds.
Image: Kazushige Nakajima/World Climbing
Image: Kazushige Nakajima/World Climbing
These athletes compete for Germany
Represented in the speed Andrin Zedler, Sebastian Luke and Leander Carmanns and Nele Thomas and Mina Josephine Schultz The German team. Zedler and Lucke have been eliminated in the qualifying rounds so far this season – Santiago de Chile is their last chance in 2026 to reach the top 16.
Carmanns recently won silver at the World Cup in Chongqing. The reigning vice world champion had previously reached the finals in Madrid, Krakow, and Chamonix. Thomas and Schultz climbed into the top 10 several times in this women's youth European series. Both are currently working on making the leap to the senior World Cups.
Image: Kazushige Nakajima/World Climbing
The Climbing Team Germany is also sending its regular participants to South America for the Lead World Cup. Anna Apel, Roxana Wienand and Annika Müller They are registered again in the women's competition. Müller became the U21 European Lead Champion in September, and Wienand, after reaching the semifinals at the last World Cup in Koper, is hoping for another good qualifying round. For Apel, Santiago de Chile marks the end of a long season in which the bouldering and lead athlete worked her way back from a finger injury.
The men's lead race starts Yannick Nagel and Sebastian HalenkeNagel finished sixth at this year's European Championships. He has participated in all events of the current World Cup season so far, but has not advanced beyond the qualifying rounds. Halenke also competed in almost all World Cups in 2026 – reaching the semifinals in Chamonix (18th place) and Prague (19th place).
Image: Lena Drapella/World Climbing
Schedule and program
For spectators from Germany, there is a time shift of 5 hoursAll times are given in South American local time (GMT-3).
- Friday, 23th October 2026
09:00 AM Lead Qualification Women
17:20 PM Speed Qualification Men
19:50 PM Speed Qualification Women - Saturday, October 24, 2026
09:00 AM Lead Qualification Men
18:00 PM Speed Finals Women & Men - Sunday, October 25, 2026
09:00 AM Lead Semi-finals Women & Men
18:00 PM Lead Finals Women & Men
Live Stream
For the YouTube live stream World Climbing has regional restrictions in place for Europe, China, and parts of South and Central America. Viewers in Europe can watch the semi-finals and finals for a fee on [website/platform name]. Discovery + or the Eurosport Player . track
Alternatively, you can use a VPN client to watch the live stream on YouTube. We will embed the streams here as soon as they are available.
Speed Finals Women & Men (Saturday 18:00 PM GMT-3)
Lead Semi-Finals Women & Men (Sunday 09:00 GMT-3)
Lead Finals Ladies & Men (Sunday 18:00 PM GMT-3)
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Credits cover photo: Dimitris Tosidis/World Climbing