The Lead World Cup took place in Briançon on Friday and Saturday. The men's final was dominated by Japan with seven out of eight athletes. In the women's category, the Slovenian Vita Lukan confidently climbed to first place.
Japanese athletes continue to dominate international competitions. This happened on an extreme scale in Briançon, France, last weekend. Seven out of eight athletes in the men's final and two athletes in the women's final were from Japan.
It was also impressive who stood on top of the podium for the men. It was the only 16-year-old Japanese Anraku Sorato. We will probably hear more from him because he is overly motivated to win many more competitions.
“I love the bouldering and lead disciplines and I want to win more medals. I want to win the World Championship and also the World Cup in Koper and Wujiang."
Lead Final Men in Replay
Lead Final Women in Replay
Results lead
Final table lead climbing men
| Rank | First Name | Last Name | Country | qualifying round | semi-final | Final |
| 1 | SORATO | ANRAKU | JPN | 1.94 | Top | Top |
| 2 | TAISEI | HOMMA | JPN | 3.54 | 45+ | 49+ |
| 3 | SATONE | YOSHIDA | JPN | 3.24 | 43+ | 49+ |
| 4 | YOSHIYUKI | Ogata | JPN | 9.75 | 43 | 49 |
| 5 | shion | OMATA | JPN | 3.54 | 43 | 44+ |
| 6 | MASAHIRO | HIGUCHI | JPN | 6.71 | Top | 40+ |
| 7 | HANNES | Puman | SWE | 11.42 | 46 | 39 |
| 8 | HARUKI | UEMURA | JPN | 15.23 | 45+ | 37+ |
Final table lead climbing women
| Rank | First Name | Last Name | Country | qualifying round | semi-final | Final |
| 1 | RESUME | Lukan | SLO | 14.19 | 44+ | 46 |
| 2 | ELISKA | ADAMOVSKA | CZE | 4.69 | 49+ | 44+ |
| 3 | MANON | HILY | FRA | 8.65 | 44+ | 44+ |
| 4 | NONOHA | KUME | JPN | 4.74 | 49 | 43+ |
| 5 | MOLLY | THOMPSON SMITH | GBR | 6.16 | 44+ | 35 |
| 6 | CAMILLE | POUGET | FRA | 14.46 | 44+ | 34+ |
| 7 | MARTINA | DEMMEL | GER | 17.62 | 43+ | 34+ |
| 8 | NATSUKI | TANII | JPN | 3.74 | 45+ | 12+ |
The lead final in replay
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Credits: Cover picture IFSC/Jan Virt