The finalists for the women’s Boulder competition at the World Climbing Series Innsbruck 2026 have been decided, with Annie Sanders of the USA topping a tightly contested semi-final round in Austria.

MULTIPLE TOPS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

Sanders scored 74.8 points thanks to three tops, including a flash on W4 to seal first place and advance to her fourth Boulder final in four World Climbing Series appearances this season.

"I feel good. Feel hot...
I have to go cool off somewhere. I still need to work on those coordo moves, they still feel a little bit foreign to me, so I gotta work more on those," commented Sanders.

"Right now I feel super psyched to compete and super grateful. I honestly don't feel that much pressure. I feel like, since I've had so much success, now I just don't feel any pressure, so I'm just going out and enjoying myself.

"It would be great for me to have a coordination boulder in the final, I think it would be cool, because I feel like I learn these moves at these comps, I don't really get to practice them that often, so it's cool to go out there and practice them. B**ut I'd really be psyched if there was a handjam in final. I know there was one last year, and I could not do it, so I went back and I worked on them. In Prague, the handjam felt super comfortable. So I'd be down to see another one," she concluded.

Italy’s Camilla Moroni was the only other athlete to record multiple tops, finishing second with 68.6 points. The result sends the Italian into her second final of the year after placing eighth in Alcobendas, Spain.

FINALISTS SEPARATED BY DECIMALS

Completing the top three was Ito Futaba of Japan with 54.6 points, earned through one top and three zones. The Japanese climber will make her first final appearance of the 2026 season.

"It was  a hard round, I think," said Ito. "I felt a bit tired before the last boulder, but that was my style so I didn't give up."

"This year we had slabs and coordination at every comp, but here it's important to be good in physical boulders too. I hope there will be more in the final too."

Behind Ito, the battle for the remaining final places proved exceptionally close. Between third and 10th place, only 0.5 points separated the athletes.

The top two climbers in the Boulder Series Rankings presented by Euroholds both progressed safely, with Oceania Mackenzie of Australia placing fourth on 54.6 points and Erin McNeice of Great Britain fifth on 54.5.

Despite suffering an injury in Prague, Czechia, where she missed the final, Oriane Bertone of France returned to the top eight in sixth place with 54.5 points. Ayala Kerem of Israel followed in seventh with 54.4 points, while Zhang Yuetong of China continued her strong form after winning bronze in Prague less than two weeks ago, qualifying eighth with 54.3 points.

With only one Boulder competition remaining after Innsbruck, the battle for the Boulder Series Rankings presented by Euroholds is entering its decisive stage.

For the women’s Boulder semi-final complete results click here.

NEXT UP

The World Climbing Series Innsbruck 2026 will continue tonight with the women’s Boulder final at 19:30 (UTC+2:00). Attention will then turn to the men’s Boulder competition tomorrow, with both the semi-final and final on the schedule, before the Lead competition takes centre stage on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June.

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.