Moving quickly on from Alcobendas, Madrid last week, the Boulder climbers opened the next event in the Series with the men’s qualification round in Prague, Czechia.

Winning Athlete of the Week from the Madrid event (watch the video here) both Japan’s Sorato Anraku – who is going for his fourth gold in a row – and Canada’s Oscar Baudrand both made it into the semi-final. Anraku was first and Baudrand was ninth.

Sharing the top spot with Anraku was Dohyun Lee who seemed a little off the pace in Madrid considering the high standards and levels we have to come to expect from the South Korean.

STRONG STARTS FOR SEASON GOALS

Germany’s Lucas Trandafir has had a mixed season so far with a ninth-place finish in Keqiao and a 31^st in Bern before skipping the Madrid stop. In Prague, there were a few nerves starting to kick in for different reasons, but a good performance seemed to put them to bed.

Trandafir said: “I really had a lot of fun. I was a bit nervous as I slept really, really bad last night and I felt like my concentration wasn’t the best, but somehow, I pulled it through and it was a really good round for me.”

The German climber was so close to the final round in Keqiao, and he is hoping that a strong start in Prague could be the kick he needs in the competition to reach his season goals: “My goal is to get into finals at some point this season, but for the semi-final I do not have any real expectations.

“This year everything is so tight and anything can happen, but I will try to get into the final.”

Trandafir moved into the semi-final in fifth overall with France’s Mejdi Schalck also in that position due to the 101 climbers being split into two groups.

FEELING BAD THE KEY TO DOING GOOD?

Trandafir had a mixed start to the season, Austria’s Nicolai Uznik, by his own admission, just had a bad one. In both Bern and Madrid he left the competition at the qualification stage, but for a climber who is a former European champion, you expect him to come back into form.

Uznik said: “I’m very happy. I didn’t have the best start to the season missing the semis in both Bern and Madrid. I was very close, so it was a bit heartbreaking. But I knew eventually I could show exactly what shape I am in. I’ve left it all behind and I climbed a bit more freely today so I’m very happy.”

Things could have been different for Uznik though who is using his experience on the international circuit to turn things around, not just in the season, but in the immediate event: “I already felt good in Madrid, maybe I got a little unlucky. Today I actually felt a bit worse in warm up, but I actually ended up doing very good on the mats, so maybe it was more of a mental change to climb a bit more freely and focus on myself.”

Uznik finished in ninth alongside Baudrand.

Last week’s podium all made it through to the semi-final with Anraku in first, USA’s Colin Duffy in 11^th and France’s Samuel Richard in 15^th. Teammate Max Bertone was the highest finisher in the French squad in third place alongside Japan’s Rei Kawamata.

Disappointed to miss out on semi-finals last week, South Korea’s Jongwon Chon and Japan’s Sohta Amagasa make it through this time around but will need to continue to improve finishing in 17^th and 21^st respectively.

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.