Bouldering,  Sport Climbing

IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2024: Results of the First Bouldering Event

IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2024 Results

The 2024 climbing season has kicked off with the IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2024 event, which featured the first bouldering competitions of the year. The event took place at the state-of-the-art Shaoxing Keqiao Yangshan Climbing Centre in Shaoxing Keqiao, CHINA.

Women’s Boulder

© Nakajima Kazushige/IFSC

Slovenian climber, Janja Garnbret, dominated the IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2024 women’s bouldering competition by placing first in qualifications, the semi-final, and ending with a nearly perfect score in the final round with 4T4z 5 5. She received her 16th Boulder World Cup medal, adding to her many awards in competitive climbing.

“It’s the first World Cup of the season and you are always a little bit nervous because although I have been training hard over the winter you don’t really know what your competitors have been doing.”

-Janja GARNBRET, IFSC

Many climbers share the same sentiments with Garnbret, hoping that their training over the winter is enough as we push towards the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yet, Garnbret has showed nothing but true prowess in her sport climbing abilities. She surpassed all the other six finalists by being the only one to successfully complete all four boulders.

Joining Garnbret on the podium was Italy’s Camilla Moroni, who finished with two tops and three zones (2T3z 10 13). Moroni started off strong in the final round by topping the first and second problems, but started to show trouble [as did many of her fellow climbers] with the final two problems.

The home crowd of China’s Luo Zhilu cheered with excitement as the local favorite took home the bronze medal with a score of 2T2z 2 2 at the IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2024 event. She really struggled with the first and last problems, but was able to reach bronze with a spectacular display of athleticism as she flashed the second and third problems.

Men’s Boulder

The IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2024 events men’s qualification round got underway as scheduled until it was cancelled due to heavy rainfall. Due to adverse weather conditions, the men’s semi-final on Wednesday (April 10th) used the qualification format where all athletes could participate. It was followed by the final round featuring 20 athletes in a semi-final format.

The final round proved challenging for the final 20 professional climbers, with no athlete scoring higher than two tops. It was a close competition with Japan’s Tomoa Narasaki and fellow compatriat Anraku Sorato going head-to-head in the final route.

Sorato had a chance to overtake Narasaki in the final route by topping the final boulder, but failed to do so in the alloted time. Narasaki was able to keep his lead of 2T4z 2 4 with fewer attempts compared to Sorato’s score of 2T4z 4 8.

“I missed two very hard and cool boulders, so I will train more. But I was able to focus on what I was good at. I’m happy to share the podium with [Anraku Sorato and Hannes Van Duysen].”

Tomoa NARASAKI, Instagram

Belgium’s Hannes van Duysen took home the bronze with a score of 2T3z 4 4. His few attempts allowed him the edge he needed to hold the third place from his fellow competitors.

As the IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2024 event comes to an end, the climbers don’t have much time to rest before the next competition takes place on April 12th. China will also be hosting the first lead and speed events of the season in Wujiang.

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For more information pertaining to the IFSC World Cup Keqiao 2024 results, location, videos, images, etc., please visit the 2024 IFSC Climbing World Cup Keqiao event page. Interested in the next event, check out the 2024 World Cup Wujiang event which is scheduled to take place April 12-14. It will feature the first lead and speed events of the season.