Two hard fought finals produced drama until the last moment with Sanders claiming gold in the dying seconds, and Suzuki proving going first in the final isn’t always a bad thing.

WOMEN’S FINAL

The women’s final was a story of two styles. USA’s Annie Sanders looked in trouble in spots before recomposing herself clamly to carry on. Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret looked confident and flowing.

Near the top of the route Garnbret rested for over a minute before trying the final few moves as she had climbed so quickly through the route. At the same spot, Sanders had less than a minute left with her slower progress through. The result was ultimately the same though – both dropped on the final move.

Garnbret seemed to misjudge her move for the top. Sanders looked at the clock and saw five seconds left and took a leap toward the top. It meant both ended with 43+, but thanks to her performance in the semi-final, Sanders took gold and Garnbret the silver.

Talking about her win Sanders said: “I knew it was pretty close. I kept looking down at the time and waiting it out as I had to try and get back as much [energy] back as possible, and I’m glad I did.”

Explaining her emotions after coming down from the wall Sanders said: “I wasn’t entirely sure I finished in the time limit, and wasn’t sure if I had won or not, but once I saw the score I realised and got super overwhelmed.”

About the route, Sanders said: “It was a slow and static route and honestly, I was a bit nervous, so I was over gripping a lot. But like I said, I got a bit back right at the top and it paid off.”

Talking about the top move, Garnbret said: *"I don’t know what happened. I felt solid and I thought I was going to do it. I don’t know. Some people were saying I was short roped because my body was in the right position and my hands were in the right position, everything was right, but I just felt short.

"Maybe I was short roped or maybe I just misjudged the last hold, either way I knew I should have done it."*

Joining Sanders and Garnbret on the podium was Chaehyun Seo. The South Korean climber had been consistent all through the competition progressing through qualification in first, semis in second, and finally finishing in third for bronze on hold 30.

Speaking about her competition Seo said: "I felt I could have done more, but I was a bit tired during the whole competition. I think I did quite well in a hard position. I’m disappointed I couldn’t make the top part of the route, but it’s ok."

Erin Mcneice came down from the wall after hitting hold 29 and you could see on her face she knew she could have gone further, ultimately though, the British climber finished in fourth overall.

Slovenia’s Rosa Rekar was fifth on hold 26+ ahead of sixth place finisher Oce Mackenzie from Australia. Mackenzie reached hold 24+.

Another Slovenian climber, Lucija Tarkus was seventh on hold 23+ with Italy’s Laura Rogora slipping early on hold 20 for eighth.

MEN’S FINAL

Neo Suzuki is on a bit of a roll when it comes to Lead climbing. He won the Japan National championships earlier in the year to make the very strong Japanese team, followed it up with an Asian Championship gold, and now has a gold medal from the first World Climbing Series event of the year.

Last year in Wujiang Suzuki had to climb twice in the final due to a decision about the rope ‘helping’ his first attempt. He came back out and won silver. This year he was a step above the other finalists despite being the first to climb in the final.

Climbing first in the final means you were the lowest placed qualifier from the semi-final, but this did not phase Suzuki one bit as he confidently climbed to hold 44+.

Suzuki then had to sit and wait as climber after climber feel short of his mark and securing his second World Climbing Series gold medal after his first in Innsbruck last year.

Despite winning gold, Suzuki wasn’t completely happy after his climb: “I’m satisfied with the result, but my performance in the final wasn’t good enough for me. I need to train harder.”

Suzuki has very high standards and expectations for himself and confirmed that with his goals for the 2026 season: “I want to get three gold medals, and all podiums at the World Climbing Series this year.”

While Suzuki aims for the series with six medals, the silver medallist did just that last year with three silvers and three bronzes. Spain’s Alberto Ginès López has started where he left off last year with another spot on the podium.

Ginés López won silver with a 39+ climb and beat South Korea’s Dohyun Lee on countback. Lee claimed the bronze also climbing to 39+, but with the Spaniard performing better in the semi he edged the shinier medal.

Speaking with a smile and joking Ginés López said: "I can’t be disappointed today because Neo was so strong, he deserved the win. I have to be the best loser ever on the circuit. I want to check the stats and see if there is someone who has more finals with no victories than me."

Lee said: "To be honest my climbing was bad. But I have to be satisfied because I got on the podium. If I do my best climbing, I think I could have gone higher, but I just felt uncomfortable. I know my weaknesses and I have to train more. Theres some really strong guys in the competition and I really respect them."

Japan’s Satone Yoshida and Sorato Anraku both climbed to 38+ and both missed out on a medal. Both were expecting more from themselves and had the same look of disappointment knowing they could have climbed better. Yoshida was fourth and Anraku fifth.

France’s Sam Avezou was sixth on hold 35+, Italy’s Filip Schenk was seventh on hold 34+ and Avezou’s teammate Victor Guillermin really enjoyed his first final with an outrageous kneebar halfway up the wall where he turned, waved and took in the crowd on his way to hold 30 and eighth place.

RESULTS

Women’s Lead

Men’s Lead

WHERE TO WATCH

The World Climbing Series Wujiang 2026 continues tomorrow with Speed qualifications and finals for the men and women.

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

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.