2026 World Climbing Keqiao Women’s Bouldering: Results & Highlights

2026 World Climbing Keqiao Women’s Bouldering

On May 2nd, the 2026 World Climbing Keqiao women’s bouldering competition took place with an exciting semi-final and to top it off, a nail biting final. As the first competition of the season, athletes were able to show off how much training they had put in during the off-season to a very excited sold-out crowd at the prestigious Yangshan Sport Climbing Center in Keqiao, China.

Across the rounds, competitors faced powerful and technical problems that demanded creativity, coordination, and precision under pressure. Here’s a look at the results and highlights from the 2026 World Climbing Keqiao women’s bouldering competition.

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Women’s Bouldering Semi-Final

The women’s bouldering semi-final round proved to be difficult, with only the top 8 athletes finding tops on an unforgiving set of problems. Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret led the field, standing out as the only competitor to top three of the four boulders, an exceptional performance in such demanding conditions. She did not disappoint fans who have set high expectations for her for this competition.

Following close behind her were great performances from France’s Oriane Bertone, USA’s Anastasia (Annie) Sanders, and Australia’s Oceania Mackenzie secured their spots in the final with consistent climbing across the round with all topping two of the bouldering problems.

With such a high level of difficulty, simply securing a single top proved decisive. In the end, those who managed to finish at least one problem gave themselves the edge needed to advance, highlighting just how punishing and tightly contested the round was at the 2026 World Climbing Keqiao women’s bouldering competition.

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Women’s Bouldering Final

The 2026 World Climbing Keqiao women’s bouldering final did not disappoint fans as it delivered a razor close finish, with margins decided down to tenths of a point. France’s Zélia Avezou surprised everyone with a very strong final that secured her first ever gold medal. She edged out the fan favorite and Olympic gold medalist Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret in one of the tightest finals ever.

Avezou and Garnbret were both able to top three out of the four bouldering problems and complete four zones. Under the World Climbing scoring system, each additional attempt reduces the players score by 0.1 point, making efficiency critical.

In great style, Garnbret wowed the crowd by flashing the final boulder which brought her total score to 84.6 points. Yet, it was not enough to push her into first place with Avezou finishing with a 84.8 points. Ultimately giving her the edge to secure the top of the podium.

Joining Avezou and Garnbret on the podium was Australia’s Oceania Mackenzie with a strong and consistent performance. Her consistency across the problems kept her firmly in medal position throughout the round. Just behind her, the battle for bronze was nearly overturned by the USA’s Anastasia (Annie) Sanders, who finished fourth with 69.5 points, only 0.1 behind Mackenzie.

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Want to Watch the Event?

Missed the live broadcast of the event? No problem! Watch the full 2026 World Climbing Keqiao women’s bouldering competition on YouTube through the World Climbing channel. The broadcast features complete coverage of the women’s and men’s bouldering semi finals and finals, allowing fans to relive the standout moments, impressive display of athleticism, and podium winning performances.

• Women’s Bouldering Semi-Final
• Women’s Bouldering Final

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For more information pertaining to the 2026 World Climbing Keqiao women’s bouldering results, location, videos, images, etc., please visit the main event page. This event also features men’s bouldering. The semi-finals and the finals for the men’s bouldering event will take place on May 3rd. Please check out the event page for further details about this event.