GINÉS LÓPEZ EYES “CONSISTENCY” AS LEAD SEASON OPENS IN WUJIANG

08 May 2026

The Spanish climber returns as defending Series winner, while Janja Garnbret chases her milestone in stacked women’s field

The first Lead competition of the World Climbing Series 2026 is set to begin in Wujiang, China, where many of the discipline’s biggest names will reunite for the second stage of the season following last week’s Boulder opener in Keqiao.

MEN’S FIELD ABUNDS WITH TALENT

The men’s field is led by reigning Lead Series winner Alberto Ginés López of Spain, who secured the 2025 title through remarkable consistency, reaching the podium at all six events despite never taking a gold medal.

The battle for the Series crown remained open until the final event of the season in Koper, Slovenia, with Japanese climbers Anraku Sorato, Suzuki Neo, and Yoshida Satone, all still mathematically in contention. All four climbers are registered to compete in Wujiang, alongside reigning world champion Lee Dohyun of South Korea, who claimed Lead gold at the World Championships Seoul 2025.

Competing in front of a home crowd, Lee Dohyun 🇰🇷 took gold to claim his first Lead title at Seoul 2025. The 23-year-old did not top the route but still outperformed a field of Lead specialists. A few days later, he added a second Championships podium, taking bronze in Boulder.

My goal is mainly to keep that consistency across the whole Series, and hopefully improve the results from last year…Alberto GINÉS LÓPEZ (ESP)

Ahead of the new season, Ginés López said he feels confident about the months ahead: “I’m feeling pretty good, I feel like this can be a good season for me.”

The Spanish climber also highlighted changes in his preparation during the off-season: “I have been training at home during the off-season, and have been combining it with some rock climbing that I missed a bit in the past few years.”

After a season built on consistency, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion says that maintaining that level remains his main objective: “My goal is mainly to keep that consistency across the whole Series, and hopefully improve the results from last year…”

Looking at the overall competition, Ginés López expects another tightly contested season: “I think it will be similar to last year, plus some European climbers that I think are coming up pretty strong.”

GARNBRET RETURNS TO LEAD

The women’s field is equally stacked, with several of the sport’s top athletes returning to competition after also competing in Boulder last week in Keqiao.

At the previous Wujiang event in 2025, Erin McNeice of Great Britain and Seo Chaehyun of South Korea shared first place in a dramatic final. McNeice would later go on to win the Lead Series 2025 title, and both climbers are set to return to Wujiang this season.

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Also competing is Janja Garnbret of Slovenia, the reigning Lead world champion, who arrives after placing second in Boulder last week in Keqiao. The two-time Olympic champion is now chasing her 50th career gold medal across all disciplines in World Climbing Series and former World Cup events.

The women’s field also includes Annie Sanders of the USA, who secured Lead gold at the Climbing World Cup in Alcobendas, Spain, and – same as Garnbret, McNeice, and Seo – opened her campaign last week in Keqiao.

WHERE TO WATCH

The World Climbing Series Wujiang 2026 opens tomorrow with two Lead qualification rounds starting at 9:00 (UTC+8:00).

Lead semi-finals and finals will be live streamed on the World Climbing YouTube channel, with geo-blocking applied to selected countries and territories. Speed qualifications and finals will also be streamed live.

For an overview of where to watch the event click here.

News and updates will be available on the World Climbing website and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Bilibili, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.