In the discipline double-header of Lead and Speed, it was time for the Lead climbers in Chamonix to take on qualification to find their semi-final starters
The men were first to finish their qualification round with Austria’s Jakob Schubert standing alone at the top of the rankings as the only climber to top both quali routes.
Route 2 did see a few more tops from the men with Spain’s Alberto Ginés López, France’s Sam Avezou and Italy’s Giovanni Placci the climbers who progressed with the help of a successful finish.
There was no top for USA’s Jesse Grupper, but two solid climbs put him in fifth overall, and on course for a better finish than his previous visits to Chamonix: “Overall it’s my sixth year in Chamonix and every year I feel like it gets better and better. My expectations are pretty low and I’m having fun. I’ve definitely flubbed this comp before, maybe it’s because of the beautiful venue and just enjoying the view as opposed to actually doing the climbing.”
Talking specifically about his qualification climbs her said: “I’m just off the wall so feeling the jitters; the good jitters for sure. The first route was fun and felt a lot like rock climbing I would say – techy feet, move and twist and a cool tension I haven’t really seen that much at this level.
“The second route was a little more punchy and in your face. It was a bit more power and endurance and I like they are playing with the styles a bit more.”
Looking back on his five previous and current Chamonix Lead comps Grupper said: “It’s always stood out as one I’ve always wanted to do better in and hopefully this is the year.
“In years past mentally it was hard to have a perception of myself and hold onto it and try to get better and that made the results hurt a bit more. Now I’m coming from a place more of love and enjoyment and I think that speaks for itself in the results.”
There are climbers who regularly make semis like world champion, South Korea’s Dohyun Lee and Germany’s Yannick Flohé, and they have once again. There are also climbers like Grupper who are trying to do better at a specific venue each year. There are also climbers who reach new heights, like Chile’s Joaquin Urrutia.
Urrutia was in joint 22nd place with Slovenia’s Luka Potocar and France’s Pierre Marzullo, and all make it through to the semi-final – a first ever for the Chilean climber.
Full results can be found here
For the women, South Korea’s Chaehyun Seo and USA’s Annie Sanders share the first position after both topped both routes.
Once again, route 2 seemed to be the one to top with Seo’s teammate Jain Kim and Great Britain’s Erin McNeice both making the top. Two solid route 1 climbs from both meant they moved forward into the semi-final.
There will be three French representatives in the semi-final as Manon Hily was fifth, Zélia Avezou was ninth and Ina Plassoux Djiga was 12th.
After her climb Plassoux Djiga said: “The routes were so cool. I was pretty stressed before I climbed as last year I was 25th and just outside the semi-final places, and Chamonix is home and I like this comp so I wanted to do well.”
The women took a little longer to finish their qualification round, and that meant that they caught a little bit of bad weather towards the end of the round, so much so that there was a small postponement for the last few climbers before they could complete their second climbs.
Plassoux Djiga just got in ahead of that postponement: “I didn’t know if I was going to climb or not as the weather meant we could have stopped for a bit, but I was ok with all situations.”
Safely through to the semi-final now, Plassoux Djiga said: “For the semi-final I will try to climb with my best mindset and just focus on my climb. It’s not flash which I find a bit more difficult, but it’s just another type of test for me.”
There will be 25 climbers in the women’s semi-final as there was a three-way tie for 23rd position. South Korea’s Chaeyeong Kim, Slovenia’s Lucija Tarkus and Japan’s Hana Koike were the climbers in that position, and all will have the chance to climb again and aim for a Chamonix final spot.
Full results can be found here
NEXT UP
The event will conclude on Sunday, 12 July, with the semi-finals beginning at 10:00 and the finals at 20:30 (UTC+2:00).
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.
