Semi-final places were decided in the men’s Boulder event at the World Climbing Series Innsbruck 2026, with Series leader Anraku Sorato of Japan once again among the standout performers.

The qualification round also reshaped the battle for the men's Boulder Series title race, leaving only one climber still mathematically capable of challenging title holder Anraku.

ANRAKU AND DUFFY LEAD QUALIFICATION

Anraku and Colin Duffy of the USA set the pace in qualification, each topping their respective groups.

The Japanese 19-year-old continued his remarkable run of form after winning the four opening Boulder competitions of the season in Keqiao, China; Bern, Switzerland; Alcobendas, Spain; and Prague, Czechia. He scored 109.9 points, recording four tops including three flashes, and moved one step closer to securing the men's Boulder Series 2026 title with one event to spare.

Duffy led the second qualification group after scoring 99.3 points. The American, who won gold in Innsbruck in 2022, has been among the most consistent climbers of the season, making the final in Bern, taking silver in Alcobendas, and narrowly missing the final in Prague by a single spot.

TITLE RACE CONTINUES

The only climber still mathematically in contention for the Boulder Series title alongside Anraku is Lee Dohyun of South Korea, who safely advanced to the semi-final in ninth place overall with 94.4 points.

The qualification round, however, saw an early exit for France’s Mejdi Schalck. Second in the Series standings coming into Innsbruck, Schalck missed the semi-final cut in 29th place overall with 69.6 points. It was only the third time in 25 Boulder appearances at World Cup or World Climbing Series level that the French climber failed to advance from qualification.

For the men’s Boulder qualification complete results click here.

JAPAN AND FRANCE PLACE MULTIPLE CLIMBERS IN SEMI-FINAL

Team Japan once again demonstrated its depth by placing six climbers in the semi-final, including Anraku and Amagasa Sohta, who finished third overall with 99.2 points. Amagasa returns to a venue where he claimed his first World Cup gold medal in 2024.

Amagasa said: "My round was not perfect, but still pretty good. This is my favorite place, my favorite venue... good boulders, good atmosphere. I like it.

"I can't wait for semi-final, I don't know what kind of boulders I will find, but I want to enjoy and go to the final and get the podium. If I could pick the boulder, I would say some good coordination, and since I trained a lot in slab, I'd like to top a slab boulder."

Despite Schalck’s elimination, France also secured a strong presence in the next round with four climbers advancing. Antoine Girard led the French contingent in fifth place with 94.8 points, while Adrien Lemaire qualified seventh overall with 84.5 points.

"My qualification was quite good," commented Lemaire. "I topped the first three boulders, so I'm happy with my performance. I wasn't qualified for the beginning of the season because I missed the French selection. So I was just qualified for one European event, where I made it to the podium and then I qualified for Prague and Innsbruck.

"I was quite frustrated after the French selection, but when I qualified for the European event I set a new objective, and I knew if I did a good performance at the European one, I can qualify for the next one. I set goals step by step, now I have goals for this event. A good semi-final would be cool. I just want to climb some cool boulders and enjoy my climbing. Hopefully some good weather too!"

NEXT UP

The World Climbing Series Innsbruck 2026 will award its first set of medals tomorrow, with the women's Boulder semi-final starting at 13:00 (UTC+2:00), followed by the final at 19:30.

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