The 2026 Para Climbing season opened at the World Climbing Para Series Salt Lake City 2026, welcoming 188 athletes — 107 men and 81 women. Team USA led the medal table after claiming 18 medals overall, while Japan collected multiple victories in the visually impaired classes and France secured five gold medals across the AL and AU categories.

JAPAN SHINE IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED FINALS

Japan dominated the B sport classes with victories from Aita Sho in men’s B1, Hamanoue Fumiya in men’s B2, Kurosawa Shingo in men’s B3, and Aoki Hiromi in women’s B1.

Sho said: “It’s the first competition since last October, it’s been quite a long break, I’m very happy of this gold medal. I used to feel the pressure of winning, but once my streak ended in 2024 with that fourth place, I feel a lot less pressure now. It’s like a new start.”

Francisco Javier Aguilar Amoedo of Spain and Guillermo Pelegrín Gómez of Spain joined Sho on the men’s B1 podium, while Minowada Kazuhiro of Japan and Razvan Nedu of Romania completed the men’s B2 top three. Daniel-Bebe-Vasilica Andrei of Romania and Kawamura Takumi of Japan won silver and bronze in men’s B3.

Tanja Glusic of Slovenia and Nadia Bredice of Italy took the remaining women’s B1 medals. Abigail Robinson of Great Britain won women’s B2 ahead of Seneida Biendarra of the USA and Luisa Grube of Germany, while Elsa Boutel Menard of France secured women’s B3 gold ahead of Phoebe Barkan and Jessica Semmel of the USA.

For the men's B1 Lead complete results click here.

For the men's B2 Lead complete results click here.

For the men's B3 Lead complete results click here.

For the women's B1 Lead complete results click here.

For the women's B2 Lead complete results click here.

For the women's B3 Lead complete results click here.

FRANCE AND USA SHARE AL/AU GOLD MEDALS

Angelino Zeller of Austria won the AL1 event ahead of Caleb McDonald of the USA and Hatakeyama Naohisa of Japan. France then collected two AL2 victories through Thierry Delarue in the men’s event and Lucie Jarrige in the women’s competition. Ethan Zilz of the USA and David Kammerer of Italy joined Delarue on the podium, while Sarah Larcombe of Australia and Emily Gray of South Africa completed the women’s AL2 medals.

Jarrige said: “I was very stressed and a bit scared, but I found a way to climb relaxed and fight again. The holds were not as good as I expected, so I had to adapt, and finally it worked.”

Team USA earned three AU victories through Brian Zarzuela in men’s AU2, Maureen Beck in women’s AU2, and Mason Keough in men’s AU3. Kevin Bartke of Germany and Eduardo Miguel Schaus of Brazil completed the men’s AU2 podium, while Lucia Capovilla of Italy and Isabel Benvenuti of the USA joined Beck in women’s AU2.

Dominic Geisseler of Switzerland and Nathan McKinley of the USA finished second and third in men’s AU3. France’s Oriane Ilpide won women’s AU3 ahead of Wanying Morningstar of the USA and Rosalie Schaupert of Germany.

For the AL1 Lead complete results click here.

For the men's AL2 Lead complete results click here.

For the men's AU2 Lead complete results click here.

For the men's AU3 Lead complete results click here.

For the women's AL2 Lead complete results click here.

For the women's AU2 Lead complete results click here.

For the women's AU3 Lead complete results click here.

HOME TEAM COLLECT MORE PODIUMS IN RP EVENTS

France’s Aloïs Pottier won men’s RP1 ahead of Korbinian Franck of Germany and Kim Rishaug of Norway. Team USA secured a one-two finish in men’s RP2 through Benjamin Mayforth and Brayden Butler, while Philipp Hrozek of Germany claimed bronze. Takano Tadashi of Japan topped the men’s RP3 podium ahead of Jamie Barendrecht of the Netherlands and Ian Gleason of the USA.

Melissa Ruiz of the USA won women’s RP1 ahead of Eva Mol of the Netherlands and Charlotte Faist of Germany. Ruiz said: “When I first looked at the route, I thought it looked really fun, and once I started climbing, I realised I was right. Near the top it became really interesting because suddenly the holds got much worse, and that changed everything. While climbing, I’m always wondering how the other athletes did and where they fell on the route.”

Jasmin Plank of Austria secured women’s RP2 gold ahead of Megan Gleason and Brenda Findlay of the USA. Marina Dias of Brazil closed the event with victory in women’s RP3, followed by Nat Vorel of the USA and Lena Schoellig of Germany.

For the men's RP1 Lead complete results click here.

For the men's RP2 Lead complete results click here.

For the men's RP3 Lead complete results click here.

For the women's RP1 Lead complete results click here.

For the women's RP2 Lead complete results click here.

For the women's RP3 Lead complete results click here.

NEXT UP

The second World Climbing Para Series event of 2026 is set to take place in Innsbruck, Austria, from 15 to 16 June.

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