The World Climbing Series continued in China, this time with the Lead discipline making its season debut
Moving from Keqiao to Wujiang, from Boulder to Lead, come climbers made the short trip between the Chinese cities to take on another stop of the World Climbing Series 2026.
WOMEN’S QUALIFICATION
Three climbers who switched cities and disciplines were Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret, South Korea’s Chaehyun Seo and USA’s Annie Sanders – and all three share first place in the women’s competition after topping the two qualification routes.
Two-time Olympic champion is once again chasing a 50th gold medal after taking silver last week, and there no surprise in her feelings after her round: “I thought qualification was too easy. It got hard in maybe the last four or five moves, but I think tomorrow is another day and I think semis and final will be harder, and I hope I can show my best there.”
One climbers easy is another climbers difficult – especially when that one climber is Garnbret – and apart from the top three, only Italy’s Laura Rogora and Great Britain’s Erin Mcneice topped a route.
Mcneice and Rogora both topped the first route and scored 40+ on the second, so they share fourth position.
Garnbret leads a strong Slovenian women’s team with five climbers into the semi-final. From Garnbret in first all the way down to Mia Krampl in 24th, the Slovenian team have some big names looking for podiums in Wujiang.
When you talk about big names, legendary climber Jain Kim and Olympic medallist Jessica Pilz spring to mind – and both the South Korean and Austrian climber make it throught the round.
Fresh off medals from Keqiao, France’s Zélia Avezou and Australia’s Oce Mackenzie both progress into the semi-final, but some work will need to be done to go deep into the competition with Avezou in tenth and Mackenzie 14th. Both however are more than capable of making that happen.
MEN’S QUALIFICATION
Just like the women, there were two tops and a joint lead for the men, and the two climbers with the position of first were Japanese teammates Neo Suzuki and Satone Yoshida. Both were high in the series ranking last season, and they continue that form into the new year.
Another climber who finished strongly in 2025 was Italy’s Giovanni Placci, and just like his Japanese rivals, he’s picking up where he left off. A top and 42+ puts Placci through in third.
After his qualification Placci said: “I’m very happy, I’m feeling very good. On the wall I felt like I could show my shape. Winter training went very well, and I think I can do great things this year.”
Talking about his season plans Placci said: “I want to do all the World Climbing Series this year and build some confidence for the next few years that will be very important for the Olympics. That’s my goal I’m working toward.”
Also with tops in the round were Indonesia’s Putra Tri Ramadani and Slovenia’s Luka Potocar. Both also had strong second climbs so sat in the top five to progress.
With no problem switching between disciplines, last week’s winner is looking to add a Wujiang gold to his collection this week, Japan’s Sorato Anraku. He made it through qualification in tenth, one spot below Spain’s Alberto Ginés López.
Between the position’s 11 to 18 there is a cluster of five French climbers with Sam Avezou heading the group that includes a medallist in last year’s series, Max Bertone.
Other notable names through to the semi-final are South Korea’s world champion Dohyun Lee and Switzerland’s World Cup winner Sascha Lehmann.
Both the men and women will take on the semi and final tomorrow, something which Garnbret actually prefers in the schedule: “Having qualis and semis the same day, it’s a very long day. Today I wake up at 5.45am, then you start warming up around 7am and if you also have semis in the same day, you may not finish until around 11pm; that’s a very long day. So, I prefer semis and final on the same day.”
RESULTS
WHERE TO WATCH
The World Climbing Series Wujiang 2026 continues tomorrow with two Lead semi-final and final rounds starting at 10:30 (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.