Oriane Bertone of France claimed first place in a thrilling women’s Boulder semi-final at the World Climbing Series Comunidad de Madrid 2026, taking place in Alcobendas, Spain.

Bertone finished on 84.6 points, just 0.1-point ahead of McNeice, with both climbers topping boulders one, two, and three. The difference ultimately came on the opening problem, where Bertone secured a flash to gain the slight advantage heading into the final.

Speaking after the round, Bertone said: “It was pretty hot, but we’re in Madrid and we’re very happy because it’s starting to be summer, so everything goes with it. I’m happy to be here and I loved the boulders. It was very fun to climb.

“I’m a bit sad about the third one. I kind of messed up the beta at the start and couldn’t really get back on my feet. But I was quite efficient on the first few ones, and the last one was a bit chaotic, but I still managed to make it work, so I’m very happy about the round.”

JAPAN PLACE THREE WOMEN INTO FINAL

Japan continued its impressive showing in Alcobendas after starting the competition with six climbers in qualification and moving five into the semi-final. Three Japanese athletes will now compete for medals in tonight's final.

Nakamura Mao of Japan finished third with 84.0 points and was the only athlete besides Bertone and McNeice to top three of the four boulders in the semi-final round. Matsufuji Anon of Japan advanced in fourth place with 69.7 points, while Sekikawa Melody of Japan secured sixth place with 69.2 points.

CLOSE MARGINS DEFINE SEMI-FINAL

The tight margins throughout the round highlighted the competitiveness of the women’s field in Alcobendas.

Ayala Kerem of Israel finished fifth with the same score as Sekikawa on 69.2 points, moving ahead of the Japanese climber thanks to fewer attempts to the zone holds.

Oceania Mackenzie of Australia, winner of the previous Boulder gold medal in Bern, Switzerland, narrowly advanced in seventh with 69.1 points.

Camilla Moroni of Italy claimed the final place in the medal round with 59.9 points, securing her first Boulder final appearance of the year.

BERTONE: "LET'S HAVE FUN AND BRING IT ON"

Bertone added: “I think it’s going to be a fun night because every round is a different one and I think the setters are very willing to do very, very good work. We’ve had very good boulders so far and very interesting ones, so I’m hopeful and very happy to be once again in a final.

“I think the mindset is a bit different now. Maybe a month ago, before China, I had a big down mentally and physically, and I’ve been struggling with this for the past few weeks. I was hesitating to do the whole season because of this.

“But we learn from every situation and I want to give my all everywhere. I want to have fun, I just want to climb. It’s the sport, it’s climbing, and if we don’t do it for ourselves, why do we do it? Let’s have fun and bring it on.”

NEXT UP

The women's Boulder semi-final will commence at 19:00 (UTC+2:00).

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