Japanese joy in Fukuoka Boulder finale
The home team Japan put on a show in front of their home crowd in Fukuoka to claim the Boulder competition at the year season ending World Climbing Nations Grand Finale 2026
After coming through qualification in top spot from the morning session, Team Japan carried on the momentum to take the Boulder title on the first day of the World Climbing Nations Grand Finale 2026.
With a strong team of Mao Nakamura, Melody Sekikawa, Sorato Anraku and Rei Kawamata, the Japanese were quick out of the blocks in the final with three tops and one zone from the four climbers on Boulder one.
Anraku and Kawamata kept pace with the Korean pair of Jongwon Chon and Dohyun Lee on their boulder with tops, while Nakamura and Sekikawa moved them clear, especially with Sekikawa’s top. South Korea’s Heeju Noh and Chaehyun Seo could only zone the boulder.
With a lead established, it was all tops from then on with both men and women topping their second boulders, before Kawamata and Sekikawa took on the mixed boulder – the only boulder of the three where the men and women both competed on the same problem. The result was the same though for Japan, two tops.
With Japan on a 233.9pts total, South Korea maintained the lead they had built over Team USA from the first boulder to take second place, and it was sealed when both Lee and Seo topped the mixed boulder giving them a total of 188.8pts.
Sisters Nekaia and Sovarae Sanders got Team USA rolling with Nekaia especially in fine form topping both the women’s boulders and making a zone in the mixed. They kept the score ticking over as Hugo Hoyer and Vail Everett failed to score on the first men’s Boulder before fighting back with both of them topping the second men’s and Hoyer topping the mixed.
Team USA finished in third with a score of 154pts ahead of Team Switzerland which was made up of Sofya Yokoyama, Francesca Walther, Julian Clémence and Moreno Ghilardi. Clémence topped the mixed boulder with Yokoyama adding a zone to take their tally up to 114.2pts.
The four teams made the final at the expense of Team Australia who got knocked out in the qualification round.
Attention now turns to Lead tomorrow when all teams will once again try to make it through qualification before the evening final to sign off the 2026 season.
