2023 Lead World Cup Briançon: Anraku and Lukan Claim Gold
France hosted multiple events in July 2023, with the final event wrapping up in the heart of the French Alps in the town of Briançon. The 2023 Lead World Cup Briançon event allowed for competitors to compete in the discipline of lead before we move to the IFSC World Cup Championships, which will be hosted in Bern, SWITZERLAND this year.
2023 Lead World Cup Briançon: Women’s Lead Final
With the 2023 IFSC World Cup Championships just around the corner, many of the top athletes did not attend the 2023 Lead World Cup Briançon event. This allowed fans to see new faces show off their skill and ultimately, take to the podium for the top spots at this year’s event.
Slovenia’s Vita Lukan made a big comeback at the 2023 Lead World Cup Briançon event after suffering from a knee injury earlier this year. She pulled through to reach a 46, which allowed her to secure her first-ever World Cup gold medal.
“It was a really tough season. I injured my knee in January and then again in February and I didn’t climb from then until the middle of April. I had an ACL tear and a meniscus tear so I went through surgery where they removed half of the meniscus. The season has been tough for me, the victory is unexpected, but it means a lot to me.”
Vita Lukan, IFSC
Joining Vita Lukan on the podium were Czech Republic’s Eliška Adamovska and France’s Manon Hily. Both climbers reached the hold 44+ in the women’s lead final, but due to the semi-final placings Adamovska was able to push ahead of hometown favorite Hily to take the silver medal.
Despite losing out on the silver medal, Manon Hily gave the crowd excitement as they cheered on the French athlete. Hily should have nothing to complain about as she reached a new personal best and a World Cup bronze medal at the 2023 Lead World Cup Briançon event.
2023 Lead World Cup Briançon: Men’s Lead Final
The men’s lead final was dominated by the Japanese team, which made up seven of the eight competitors in the final round. Japan’s Sorato Anraku has been on fire this season with multiple wins in men’s boulder and ranking in the finals at multiple lead events.
It comes as no surprise as Sorato Anraku secured his first Lead World Cup gold medal, making him the first climber from Japan to win a Boulder World Cup and Lead World Cup medal in one season. An enormous accomplishment for the only climber to TOP the final route of the evening.
“I’m surprised to win. I love doing both Boulder and Lead and I want to win more medals. I really want to win the World Championships as well. Koper World Cup. Wujiang World Cup. I practice a lot and I want to win them all.”
Sorato Anraku, IFSC
Anraku’s fellow teammates Japan’s Taisei Homma and Satone Yoshida joined him on the podium with both climbers reaching 49+. The tie-breaker went to Taisei Homma who placed higher in the semi-final rounds.
The Japanese team was overjoyed to see so many of their team members in the final round with all of the athletes placing personal best records in men’s lead.
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For more information about the event pertaining to the results, location, videos, images, and so on, please visit the 2023 Lead World Cup Briançon event page. With the Briançon lead competition coming to an end, we can look forward to the start of the exciting 2023 IFSC World Cup Championships in Berns. For more information on the World Cup Championships, check out the latest information and videos here.
