A brilliant start for the climbers at the Olympics: 17-year-old Sorato Anraku dictated the proceedings in the bouldering semi-final. He won ahead of teammate Tomoa Narasaki and Toby Roberts. The two climbing legends Adam Ondra and Jakob Schubert also put in a strong performance.
The news about the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is presented by Mammut and Unparallel
At the first climbing event at the Olympic Games In Paris, the men's semi-finals in bouldering in the combined format Bouldering & Lead will see the expected clash between the up-and-coming youngsters and the long-standing competition dominators.
Strong youngsters, Anraku confident from A to Z
The 17-year-old Japanese Sorato Anraku lived up to his role as favorite for Olympic gold from the start. He cracked the extremely tough first boulder on his second attempt, flashed boulder two and came closer to the top of boulder three than almost any other climber before him.
When he reaches the fourth and final boulder, he has already won the semi-final. Nevertheless, he makes attempt after attempt and ultimately secures Zone 2 here too.
With three Zone 2 and a top on Boulder 4, his 11-year-older teammate Tomoa Narasaki the second best result of this round. Only 0,3 points behind him in third place Toby Roberts.
The young Brit secured zone two in the first three boulders within just a few attempts. On boulders 2 and 3 he reached the target holds – albeit only briefly. With a top on the last boulder he catapulted himself from 12th place to 3rd place at the last minute – a very comfortable starting position for the lead specialist.
The French local hero Sam Avezou lived up to the high expectations of the home crowd. He got the important points in Zone 2 on the first two problems at the first attempt. He had more trouble on Boulder 3, which required complex coordination movements. Thanks to a top result on Boulder 4, he can look forward to the lead semi-finals with a lot of confidence.
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Ondra and Schubert on fire
The two climbing sizes Adam Ondra and Jakob Schubert have impressively demonstrated in the bouldering semi-finals in Paris that they can and want to still compete for medals. Adam Ondra shows his grit right on the first boulder, where he is the first athlete to reach the top, but then cannot find the right position to be able to control the top hold with both hands.
Jakob Schubert has a similar experience. He changes position on the second-to-last hold for a long time until he finally finds the solution and presses himself into the target hold. The six-time world champion is delighted and sends a clear message to the competition: the strong Austrian is in top form.
The two Mammut teammates have more difficulty on coordination boulder 3. A look at the results on this specific problem shows that the pendulum jumps or the lateral double dynamo to the target hold are much better suited to the younger climbers.
Adam Ondra corrects this “intermediate low” with a top on Boulder 4. Jakob Schubert, on the other hand, can benefit from his top on Boulder 1 and finishes the semi-final in a comfortable fifth place, directly behind the Czech.
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Megos, Schubert and Lehmann in the back midfield
Things didn't go quite as well as hoped for Yannick Flohé and Alex Megos. The two Germans finished the bouldering semi-finals in 12th and 15th place.
Bouldering specialist Flohé secures the second zone on the first two problems at the first attempt. On Boulder 2 he even has the target holds in his hands for a short time, but is unable to press the dual-texture holds tight enough.
The Swiss hopeful Sascha Lehmann lands in 1th place after three Zone 2s and one Zone 3 on Boulder 16. This means that the lead specialist has a challenging task ahead of him the day after tomorrow: If he wants to make it to the final, he must show an outstanding performance in his favorite discipline and position himself at the very top.
Results Bouldering semi-finals men | Olympic Games Paris
- Sorato Anraku, 69 points
- Tomoa Narasaki, 54.4 points
- Toby Roberts, 54.1 points
- Sam Avezou, 49.2 points
- Adam Ondra, 48.7 points
- Jakob Schubert, 44.7 points
- Hannes Van Duysen, 34.3 points
- Hamish McArthur, 34.2 points
Content partner Olympic Games 2024 in Paris
The coverage of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is presented by Mammut:
Mammoth is a Swiss outdoor company founded in 1862 that offers mountain sports fans all over the world high-quality products and unique brand experiences. For 160 years, the world's leading premium brand has stood for safety and groundbreaking innovation. Mammut products combine functionality and performance with contemporary design. With the combination of hardware, shoes and clothing, Mammut is one of the most complete providers in the outdoor market. Mammut Sports Group AG operates in around 40 countries and employs around 850 people.
Maximum grip, sophisticated designs and «hand-made in California»: The brand unparallel not only impresses with years of experience in the production of climbing shoes, but also relies on a sustainable philosophy - as well as on a selection of specially developed rubber compounds that are processed exclusively by long-standing, local partners.
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Credits: Cover image Drapella/Virt/IFSC