WORLD CLIMBING SERIES BERN 2026: WHAT THE ATHLETES SAID
Hear from the climbers at the World Climbing Series event in Bern, Switzerland
MEN'S FINAL
Sorato Anraku, Japan - GOLD
“It was a hard round. I’m just happy every time I can show my climbing and take a victory.
“The crowd here was amazing. I take my power from them.”
Picking a favourite boulder:
“Boulder three, the slab. Not always that good on slab so I was happy to do it.”
WOMEN'S FINAL
Oceania Mackenzie, Australia - GOLD
“I think I am still a little in shock. But really amazing.”
“I found out a bit earlier, but I think my coach was a bit nervous to say I had won so gave me the wrong results. So I had to wait a little bit longer before I was 100% sure before I celebrated so much.”
Talking about her beta breaking final boulder:
“I knew straight away. As soon as I came down after my first attempt. I knew the top hold wasn’t that far away.”
MEN'S SEMI-FINAL
Sohta Amagasa, Japan
“I’m so happy. Before the semi-final I was so nervous because last time in Keqiao I had a bad performance. Today my performance was really good.
“The boulders were hard, but I think they were my style.”
Max Milne, Great Britain
“I’m super happy with my climbing. The crowd is insane; they are so hype. The boulders were showy. It felt like a final.”
“I topped the first boulder and zoned on all the others. I timed out on the last, but I still topped it. I’m happy that didn’t cost me a finals place."
“I’m just happy to be back in finals. I had a hard time in China. Sometimes that happens but you need to stay focused, and I feel I’ve come back well.”
WOMEN'S SEMI-FINAL
Mao Nakamura, Japan
“I’m happy to be in the final, that round was hard. It surprised me a bit as yesterday’s quali was pretty easy.”
“I’d say my favourite boulder was number three because it had a lot of sequences and it felt like a puzzle.”
Oceania Mackenzie, Australia
“I’m happy to be in the final. I felt a bit tired after doing both Boulder and Lead in China, a lot more I expected really.
“The semi-final boulders were long, and I feel didn’t really suit my style, so I hope for a different style tonight.”
MEN'S QUALIFICATION
Colin Duffy, USA
“I feel great. I was sad to miss China but I’m happy to be back here in Bern. I had final exams for school, and I just couldn’t make the trip.”
“It was a pretty difficult round. There was no easy boulder in the round. They were all quite demanding. You needed to top on a few difficult boulders to make it through and I was luckily enough to have a good performance on every boulder and have a solid round.”
Thorben Perry Bloem, Germany
“I thought it was closer to being better than it was to be worse. I fell on a few top moves so I’m confident I can improve.”
“I want to work on my consistency. I had a few semis last season, but I didn’t make them all, so I want to be more consistent at that."
“I feel the semi-final style suits me more than qualification, so I hope for the best on Sunday and hopefully make the final. But for now, everything is a bonus.”
WOMEN'S QUALIFICATION
Sofya Yokoyama, Switzerland
Speaking after her climbing was finished:
“I don’t want to jinx it, but I think I am ok. I would like to wait until the very, very end because you never know what can happen. There’s a few more to come that could get ahead of me, but I think I am ok.”
“It was a really good round for me. I don’t think I have climbed this well in so long. I had so much fun, I knew what I had to do, I felt I had focus, and I mean the crowd and being at home gave me so much more motivation.”
Yuetong Zhang, China
“I’m happy, I think it’s the first time I’ve topped five boulders in qualification. I don’t really care where I am in the standings, just that I could finish all the boulders.”
“Thinking back to last year here, and Keqiao at the start of the season, I think the boulders were really hard and my performance was ok, so I wasn’t as worried about this competition as I thought it couldn’t be as hard.
“But I still needed to focus. The first boulder I was a little confused but after that I was ok.”
