Never before has a male climber won four successive gold medals in the World Climbing Series, or the IFSC World Cup as it was formally known in the same season – well now they have, and that man is Sorato Anraku.

As has become the custom in 2026, Anraku left it until the last moment to take his gold, this time in a lower scoring technical final in the Czechia capital winning ahead of rivals Dohyun Lee and Mejdi Schalck.

Of the three podium finishers Schalck was the quickest out of the blocks as he flashed the first boulder, while Anraku and Lee could only flash the zone. Advantage Schalck.

Zones all round on boulder two with Anraku flashing the zone and Lee and Schalck needing two attempts. The points were still in the Frenchman’s favour.

But then, boulder three both Lee and Anraku flashed while Schalck could only make the zone – the momentum was swinging towards the Asian climbers.

With Lee lower down the order after the semi-final, he was first out on the mats and made the zone in two. That was all he could manage taking his total to 54.8pts.

It was Schalck’s turn. He also zoned in two which gave him a score of 54.7pts. It was once again down to Anraku.

The Japanese climber had a small buffer with attempts, but didn’t need them as he flashed the zone for 55pts and his fourth gold in a row. It meant a silver for Lee who seemed to move quietly through the competition, and bronze for Schalck.

After his gold medal Anraku said: “I can’t really say anything. I don’t really understand how to feel, but it’s good to relieve some pressure. The final round was a bit coordination on the slab, and this is not my style.”

The legend that is Janja Garnbret is the only climber to win gold in every event of a discipline in the annual series, and now Anraku is on track to equal that feat, although he’s not really thinking about it: “I know the record, but I don’t care so much. I just love competing.”

Sam Avezou started the Boulder competition in Prague by topping the first three boulders in qualification, but that’s where they stopped. He scored a zone on every other boulder after this in the qualification, semi-final and final. A curious statistic that actually took him all the way to fourth overall with 39.7pts.

In fifth was Max Milne who scored 29.9pts, but the Great British climber was the constant entertainer even producing a cartwheel while the brushers cleaned his holds for his next attempt.

Sixth and seventh went to two first time finalists as France’s Max Bertone scored 29.6pts and Germany’s Lucas Trandafir scored 29.4pts. You feel there is more to come from the pair in the future.

Also on 29.4pts was Austria’s Jan-Luca Posch who placed eighth due to conuntback to the semi-finals.

The competition continues in Prague tomorrow as the women take on their Boulder semi-final and final, before a final day full of Lead.

RESULTS

Men's Boulder: https://wclmb.hopp.to/pra26mbr

THE PROGRAMME

The World Climbing Series Prague 2026 will kick off with two days of qualifications: men’s Boulder on Wednesday, 3 June at 9:00 (UTC+2:00), followed by women’s Boulder at 16:00. Lead qualifications will take place on Thursday, 4 June at 10:00.

Semi-finals and finals will liven up the weekend, with men’s Boulder awarding its medals on Friday, 5 June, women’s Boulder on Saturday, and Lead semi-finals and finals closing the event on Sunday, 7 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.