During the first weekend of October 2019 the European Championships in Lead Climbing took place in the Scottish capitol Edinburgh. Adam Ondra won in the lead discipline before the Spanish athlete Alberto Gines Lopez and the Swiss climber Sascha Lehmann. The Slovenian Lucka Rakovec won ahead of the Italian Laura Rogora and the Frenchwoman Luce Douady.
The Scottish capital Edinburgh was on 5. and 6. October 2019 for the first time hosted a climbing championship in the disciplines Lead and Speed. In the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, one of the largest indoor climbing facilities in Europe, fought overall 129 athletes (74 men, 55 women) from 20 nations for European Championship precious metal.
The medal winners at the European Climbing Championships in Edinburgh
Sascha Lehmann wins the bronze medal
Already in the lead qualification of Saturday, 5. October, convinced the Swiss Sascha Lehmann (Burgdorf BE) in both routes. With a top and a height of 42 + in the second round, the Burgdorfer finished the qualifier ahead of top favorite Adam Ondra (CZE) on the 1. Intermediate place. This momentum took the 21-year-old in the semifinals of Sunday morning and climbed again strong. In second, Sascha sovereign qualified for the final, which started only a few hours later. The final route started promisingly for this year's World Cup winner from Villars.
“The lower part wasn't too difficult, which is always nice to get on the route. This was followed by jumps and some technically demanding parts, that was cool. In the upper part it was technically no more difficult than below, but there were a few trains waiting that cost me a lot of energy. "
Sascha Lehmann
Sascha fell in the final at a height of 34 + and took the meantime the 2. Rank. Reigning lead world champion Adam Ondra, who was the last athlete to contest the final, lived up to his role as favorite and secured the European title ahead of only 16-year-old Spaniard Alberto Gines Lopez and Sascha Lehmann. Jakob Schubert was denied an EM medal after a mistake in the final (7 place). Germany did not make it to the final.
The joy over the bronze medal was big at the Swiss: "This year was not everything as desired, for example at the World Cup, where I was not satisfied with my performance. The fact that I am allowed to stand on a podium again and that at an European Championship is very valuable to me and all in all it is another great experience. "
Three Swiss ladies in the semifinals
With Anne-Sophie Koller (Bienne BE), Michelle Hulliger (Ramsei BE) and Katherine Choong (Glovelier JU) also reached all three Swiss women who were selected for the European Championship, the semi-finals. The Frenchwoman Katherine Choong showed a good competition and finished 36 + 16. Final Standings. This again improved 9 ranks. Michelle Hulliger, who qualifies for the 19. Intermediate rank climbed, fell in the same place as her teammate and became 15. As tenth Anne-Sophie Koller came closest to the women's final qualification and provided the best result. For the Austrians it was Jessica Pilz who reached the final and with the 5. Secured the best placement for their country. The European title was won by Lucka Rakovec (SLO).
Video: Final of the European Climbing Championships in Edinburgh 2019
Results in detail
The detailed results are on the Website of the IFSC a DAK Bungalow.
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Credits: Titelbild GB Climbing /Final Crux Films, Text Swiss Alpine Club SAC and Austria Climbing