Firsts, lasts and perfect seasons in Fukuoka

In the final event of the season for the Para climbers, 19 gold medals were won across the sport classes, and one bronze medal marked a new nation’s rise in the sport.

RP CLASSES

By making it into the final of the men’s RP2, South Korea’s Taein Yun knew he was going to mark a first for his country – taking a medal, of any colour in Para climbing. Fully joining the circuit at last year’s World Championship in Seoul, the South Korean team did not have to wait long for a taste of the podium.

India’s Manikandan Kumar won the class reaching hold 33 with Austria’s Daniel Wiener taking silver on hold 32+. They were joined by Yun who was competing in his fifth competition, and fourth World Climbing Para Series event on the podium picking up bronze on hold 19+

Austria’s Jasmin Plank topped the women’s RP2 final route to secure gold ahead of silver medallist Matoi Futahashi of Japan who reached hold 33+ and Italy’s Chiara Cavina who took bronze on hold 32. Plank’s gold was the fifth of the season meaning see triumphed at every World Climbing Para Series competition in 2026.

In her first full season on the circuit, Slovenia’s Pia Purkart can be pleased with a collection of two gold’s and two silver medals, with one of those golds coming in Fukuoka. Purkart climbed to hold 35+ and beat silver medallist Marina Dias of Brazil who hit hold 32+ and bronze medallist Nat Vorel of the USA on hold 31+.

After her win Purkart said: “It was great. I really liked the route, except for the last move. I knew I couldn’t do the press, but it went great otherwise.

“I was really nervous, but I managed to calm myself and climb the way I wanted to. But a little bit of nerves for sure.”

Kazuhiko Yamashita is the current world champion in the men’s RP3, but the home crowd in Japan was enough to tip him over the edge and win his first gold in the World Climbing Para Series after previously a best finish of silver. His qualification result was the key as both he and silver medallist Camille Caulier of Belgium topped the final route. Yamashita and Caulier were joined in the podium by Japan’s Tadashi Takano who reached hold 40+.

Netherlands’ Eva Mol stopped USA’s Melissa Ruiz from also completing a perfect season by taking gold in the women’s RP1. Mol reached hold 35+ with Ruiz on hold 33. They were joined on the podium by bronze medallist Charlotte Faist from Germany on hold 25+.

Aloïs Pottier claimed the final men’s RP1 gold of the season with the French climber hitting hold 45+ ahead of Norway’s Kim Rishaug in silver on hold 41+ and Germany’s Korbinian Franck in bronze on hold 41.

B CLASSES

Last week in Gunsan, so tight was the final rounds that two classes were separated by time. Once again time was the decider as Japan’s Sho Aita won gold in the men’s B1 class ahead of Spain’s Francisco Javier Aguilar Amoedo. Both reached hold 39+ with Aita doing it in 5:08 and Aguilar Amoedo in 5:26. Spanish teammate Guillermo Pelegrín Gómez took the bronze reaching hold 27+.

Austria’s Lilli Marie Laschitz was one of two climbers to reach a top in the B class finals, and with it secured the women’s B1 gold. Italy’s Nadia Bredice took silver behind Laschitz on hold 35+ beating Japan’s Hiromi Aoki of Japan on countback as she made the same point eventually taking bronze.

The other climber to top was USA’s Linn Poston in the women’s B3 which gave her the gold. After her win Poston said: “I felt really good. Honestly that’s the best I have felt doing any sort of rope climbing in a while, so I just really locked in and felt really confident. All of my training just came together for that route.”

Talking about the final jump move to top the route Poston said: “I didn’t know I had won at that point, but I wasn’t that stressed because I have been intentionally training jumps because they show up in a lot of non-Para climbing comps that I compete in.”

Poston’s USA teammate Phoebe Barkan took silver reaching hold 26+ while Japan’s Mika Maeoka took bronze reaching hold 20.

Just like Yamashita in the RP3, Japan’s Takumi Kawamura took inspiration from the home crowd to win his first gold medal. Kawamura climbed to hold 31 in the men’s B3 to take his maiden victory ahead of silver medallist Hassan Mohammadi of USA on hold 22+ and Sebastian Schmitz of Switzerland who took bronze on hold 18+. 

The home crowd had a lot to shout about in the men’s B2 competition with a full Japanese podium lockout. Kazuhiro Minowada won gold on hold 39 beating teammate Fumiya Hamanoue on countback. Motohiro Ejiri won the bronze on hold 22+.

Great Britain’s Abigail Robinson has won every Para climbing event she has entered, and she finished 2026 with another perfect record after taking gold in Japan. The British climber won getting to hold 35+ with USA’s Seneida Biendarra in silver on hold 30+ and Austria’s Linda Le Bon in bronze on hold 21+. 

AL & AU CLASSES

Before the Fukuoka event, USA’s Ethan Zilz had one gold to his name from Innsbruck in 2024. The American climber now has two after winning the men’s AL2 competition. Zilz climbed to hold 40+ for the win and after said: “I felt great. There was a lot of debate in isolation about the beta, but when I got on the wall, I followed my instincts and it worked out.”

Zilz also had a mention for the unseen figures behind the competition: “The routesetters are always pushing the limits. Especially the last move, the pommel move was super challenging. The routesetters did great pushing us.”

Italy’s David Kammerer took silver on hold 37+ and Spain’s Rubén Roldán Bustos took bronze on hold 36+.

France’s Lucie Jarrige is used to tasting gold with over 25 top step finishes to her name. She won bronze in Gunsan last week but returned to the top in the women’s AL2 competition climbing to hold 33+ for the win. The French climber finishes the series with three gold’s and two bronze medals. Australia’s Sarah Larcombe took silver on hold 25+ and USA’s Cail Soria won bronze on hold 19.

Jarrige’s teammate Solenne Piret also won gold when she climbed to hold 35+ in the women’s AU2. Piret beat Italy’s Lucia Capovilla and USA’s Maureen Beck who both climbed to hold 26+, with the Italian winning silver on countback.

USA’s Brian Zarzuela won gold in the men’s AU2 when he reached hold 37+ for gold. Zarzuela beat Norway’s Isak Ripman who climbed to hold 34+ for silver and Brazil’s Eduardo Miguel Schaus who climbed to hold 33+ for bronze.

In the AU3 competitions, it was USA and Switzerland who triumphed. 

Wanying Morningstar made her debut on the circuit in her homeland and took silver in that Salt Lake City event at the start of the season. She then returned to competition in Laval to take her first gold and finished the season in Fukuoka with another win. Not a bad return in your first senior year. 

The American climbed to hold 32 to win and beat silver medallist Manca Smrekar of Slovenia who took silver on hold 26 and teammate Veronica Sturman who took bronze on hold 15+. It was Sturman’s second competition and first medal – so the future is looking bright for Team USA in the class.

Dominic Geisseler and Nobuhiro Yasuraoka both climbed to hold 28+ in the men’s AU3 final, but due to countback the Swiss climber took gold with the Japanese climber in silver position. USA’s Nathan McKinley joined them on the podium with bronze on hold 23+.

The AL1 class has been mixed throughout the season, and Angelino Zeller has won gold in all of them. The Austrian climber reached hold 41+ to make it five from five for the season beating Belgium’s Pavitra Vandenhoven and teammate Markus Pösendorfer. Both climbed to hold 39+ in the final, but Vandenhoven took the silver due to her higher placing in qualification.

The podium presentations for all the classes brought the curtain down on the World Climbing Para Series 2026, and now all the climbers can look forward to the off-season before coming back to competition in 2027 for another round of the series and the World Championship in Brno, Czechia. 

RESULTS

Full results for all classes can be found here

News and updates about all World Climbing events will be available on the World Climbing website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.