Annie Sanders and Satone Yoshida both top routes to lead their competitions into the final
With both the men and women in Lead action in Wujiang, it was USA’s Annie Sanders and Japan’s Satone Yoshida who were the semi-final standout performers as the only climbers to top their routes.
WOMEN’S SEMI-FINAL
American Sanders topped both routes in qualification to take a joint-first position into the semis but now stands alone as the only climber to top all routes in the women’s competition.
After her semi-final climb Sanders said: “I’m extremely happy. I felt I paced it out quite nice which I haven’t done in the past and it saved me a lot of time in the head wall and be patient.
“I was expecting one or two other girls to top the route, I don’t know, the last move was super hard though.”
In Wujiang last year, Chaehyun Seo claimed a joint gold medal with Erin Mcneice, so the South Korean knows that countback can come into play when it gets to the end of a competition.
Both Seo in second and the British climber Mcneice in fifth make it through to the final, but with Sanders out on her own in first she maybe holds the advantage above the finalists.
Between Seo and Mcneice are Italy’s Laura Rogora in third after equalling Seo’s 40+ climb, and Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret in fourth equalling Mcneice’s 38+ climb. Those positions once again show countback comes into play and could feature when it comes medal time.
Garnbret, who is still searching for her 50th gold medal, is joined by two Slovenian teammates in the final. Lucija Tarkus progressed in fifth on hold 38+ with Rosa Rekar seventh on hold 36.
Fresh off a Boulder bronze medal, Australia’s Oce Mackenzie makes another final progressing in eighth on hold 35+ - the plus being the all-important score with spots nine and ten on hold 35.
MEN’S SEMI-FINAL
Just like Sanders, Yoshida has topped all routes he’s taken on in Wujiang and is the only man to do so. Another top in the semi-final, which looked comfortable after a long pause mid-route for a rest on a kneebar, has put Yoshida in a very good position for a medal.
The Japanese climber is joined by two teammates in the final, but only just. Sorato Anraku progressed in seventh on hold 37+ and Neo Suzuki was eighth on hold 36+ - a place he secured with countback as he was one of five climbers with that score.
Series winner from last year, Spain’s Alberto Ginés López is still searching for a first gold medal on the World Climbing Series, and you feel it is coming…watch this space.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion gets better as the competitions seem to go on and moved up from ninth in qualification to second with a hold 39+ climb. Is Wujiang the time he takes the top step of the podium?
In third, also with a 39+ climb is France’s Sam Avezou who is joined by teammate Victor Guillermin who will feature in his first final after finishing in fifth on hold 38.
Guillermin was one of the earlier climbers out so had a long way to see if he would make it into the final, and he thinks he knows why he made it – the kneebar that Yoshida found.
Speaking straight after his climb when he was still waiting for the top order to take their attempts Guillermin said: “The kneebar was very useful. It felt like I was doing two routes instead of one big route. It allowed me to rest, really breathe and get back some endurance because I felt I had no arms on the wall.
“If other climbers find the kneebar I don’t think I will make it through to the final, if they don’t and they just keep going and going, then I have a chance.”
He certainly had a chance and now has a chance for a medal as anything can happen in a final, you just have to be there and stay in with a shot.
Between Avezou and Guillermin was Italy’s Filip Schenk who scored 39+ while the climber in sixth position was the world champion, South Korea’s Dohyun Lee. Lee matched Anraku’s score and hit hold 37+.
The climbers will now come back later in the day for their finals, but what do they do in the time between? Annie Sanders tells us: “I will just chill. I have a little bit of work to do for school so I might do that, but otherwise just eat some nice food and chill.”
RESULTS
WHERE TO WATCH
The World Climbing Series Wujiang 2026 continues later today with two Lead final rounds starting at 19:00 (UTC+8:00). The men will climb first before the women close the Lead competition.
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.