Janja Garnbret claimed gold and Shauna Coxsey just missed out on a medal in the fourth IFSC Boulder World Cup 2017, meanwhile Alexey Rubtsov came out on top in a close-fought battle in finals. Find out all the details from the event in Hachioji-Tokyo, Japan.
It’s turning into a head-to-head battle between BMC ambassador Shauna Coxsey and rising star Janja Garnbret of Slovenia to see who will be crowned season champion in the women’s IFSC Boulder World Cup series 2017. Both competitors have taken two golds and one silver, and now only eight points separate them in the overall rankings.
Two others from GB Climbing made semi-finals, Michaela Tracey and Tyler Landman, while the rest of the team put on strong showings and a number put in their best performances of the season. Leah Crane again narrowly missed out on semi-finals, placing 11th in her group, while Dave Barrans and Matt Cousins came in 13th and 17th, respectively, in their second World Cup of the season, Orrin Coley improved his previous score by half to place 24th and Nathan Phillips came 30th in his group.
Leah Crane, GB Climbing Team member, said: “Tokyo is one of the favourite rounds among the athletes. The city, the hospitality, the venue and the competition wall, all make the full experience fantastic. It’s a brilliant end to the Asia-leg of the 2017 tour.”
Guess the guns! Answers: TL, Leah; TR, Shauna; BL, Michaela. Photo: Leah Crane
Event report: Semi-finals
After a tough but entertaining qualifying round, competitors’ all-round abilities were tested by the semi-final blocs. Tyler Landman made a strong start, topping the first two boulders, and placed in his highest position of the season so far in 13th. Meanwhile, Michaela placed in 10th position and Shauna made it through to finals in 5th.
Leah said: “Michaela struggled with terrible skin, but a flash of the slab put her in a solid 10th place. Coming out near last, Shauna had to battle sweaty and dirty holds, but she gave it everything to stay on the wall. Arriving at the last bloc Shauna was in 7th place, so she needed to top it to be in the final. But pressure is no problem for Shauna, and she elegantly and efficiently dispatched the bloc to qualify for finals in 5th place.”
Finals
There was an all-star cast in the women’s final, and a new kid on the bloc Taisei Ishimatsu, who was competing in his first IFSC World Cup finals ever. Team Japan put on a strong showing in front of their home crowd with five athletes competing in finals.
After all the women flashed W1, it was all about the last three blocs in the women’s final. Janja took the gold with an impressive four tops in five attempts, while Akiyo Noguchi and Miho Nonaka claimed silver and bronze, and Shauna settled for 4th place.
Leah said: “Shauna overall was satisfied with her climbing, but disappointed with the boulders in the final round, feeling like she hadn't done much climbing.”
The men’s finals was an epic battle with all to play for on the last bloc. Tomoa Narasaki of Japan could claim victory with a top of M4, the last bloc, but after coming agonisingly close multiple times his four minutes were over and he had to wait and watch the other climbers decide his fate.
Alexey Rubtsov of Russia was up next and put on an insane display of strength and tenacity to match the last hold and claim a top, putting him in first position for the moment and bumping Tomoa down to second. But the next competitor, Keita Watabe of Japan, still had a chance to claim gold for Team Japan.
Leah said: “It was down to Keita to take the gold for Japan, but his super powers seemed to fade and he couldn't stick the sideways double-dyno of M4 to take the win. Alexey jumped up, punching his fists in the air; Keita's fall meant he had taken the gold, Tomoa took silver and Keita the bronze.”
After a long time on the road, the athletes now have the chance to head home for an extended period and some much needed rest. The fifth and next round will be held in Vail, USA, on 9/10 June.
WATCH: The Finals Highlights of IFSC BWC Hachioji-Tokyo 2017
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Women's results:
Janja Garnbret (SLO)
Akiyo Noguchi (JPN)
Miho Nonaka (JPN)
Shauna Coxsey (GBR)
Fanny Gibert (FRA)
Petra Klingler (SUI)
Men's results:
Alexey Rubtsov (RUS)
Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
Keita Watabe (JPN)
Mickael Mawem (FRA)
Jakob Schubert (AUT)
Taisei Ishimatsu (JPN)
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