GROSSMAN AND ANRAKU WIN IFSC BOULDER WORLD CUP 2023 TITLES
The final act of the IFSC World Cup Boulder series took place in Innsbruck last night with the 2023 winners in the men’s and women’s competitions crowned at the Kletterzentrum.
For the second year in a row USA’s Natalia Grossman has stood atop the women’s Boulder podium as the series winner. Despite a slow start to the season, Grossman was once again triumphant with the help of two gold medals and one silver.
In the 2023 season opener in Hachioji, Japan, Grossman missed out on finals, and did so again in Seoul, South Korea, just a week later.
However, climbing at the World Cup Salt Lake City in her homeland really kick started her Boulder season.
Whenever Grossman climbs in a World Cup in Salt Lake City she seems to win. She has five gold medals after her latest victory there in May, and those home comforts started a string of medal winning results.
Grossman skipped the event in Prague, Czech Republic but returned to Brixen, Italy once again stepping up to the top spot on the podium. A silver medal in Innsbruck in the season finale secured her the 2023 title with 3527.5 points.
Grossman said: “It feels great to have ended the season with the overall title. I think something that has allowed me to continue having success is continuing to focus on the mental aspect of climbing, and not only the physical aspect.
“Of course, having access to train hard at the American Training Centre and being able to climb on an incredible spray wall and World Cup style boulders - set by my coach - has been very helpful.”
Looking ahead to the future Grossman said: “The women’s field has grown a lot in the past year which makes me excited to see where we will be a year from now.”
Just like Grossman, Nonaka Miho started slowly – and like her American counterpart failed to make the final. Nonaka came back strong taking the gold medal in Seoul - her first gold since the IFSC World Cup Meiringen in 2018 - but unlike Grossman who came alive in Salt Lake City, Nonaka once again missed out on finals.
After just missing out on a medal in Prague when she finished fourth, Nonaka opted to rest during the Brixen event only to return to action in Innsbruck with a bronze medal winning performance and securing the second spot in the 2023 series with 3005 points.
In contrast to Grossman and Nonaka, USA’s Brooke Raboutou came all of the 2023 blocks flying, and was the most consistent performer finishing in the top four in all her appearances.
In Hachioji, Raboutou claimed her first ever World Cup gold and the relief and emotion was evident from the effervescent American. She backed it up with a bronze in Seoul and another bronze in Salt Lake City. After skipping both Prague and Brixen, Raboutou had her lowest finish of the season in fourth but secured third place overall with 2990 points.
Raboutou’s consistency placed her ahead of France’s Oriane Bertone who although finished in a lowly 31stplace in Hachioji, came back with a sequence of silver, silver, gold before taking time out and not competing in the final two events of the year in Brixen and Innsbruck. Bertone finished on 2649.5.
Full 2023 women’s Boulder rankings can be found here
Women's Boulder World Cup podiumPhoto: Jan Virt/IFSC
Anraku Sorato of Japan has had quite the introduction to the senior ranks in 2023. Beginning in his homeland, Anraku made his first Boulder final in his first IFSC World Cup appearance. He finished a very respectable fifth.
Confessing himself that Seoul didn’t quite go to plan where he finished in 29th, the youngster came back fighting and took his first World Cup medal by winning silver in Salt Lake City.
In Prague he agonisingly missed the finals finishing just outside in seventh, but rectified that in Brixen where he finished fifth overall. But it was Innbruck where Anraku really capped of a fantastic debut season.
He took his first ever gold at a World Cup, and with his nearest rival for the 2023 title, Dohyun Lee of South Korea, down in 14th, he also claimed the golden double finishing on 3350 points.
Anraku said: “I would have never expected to have such a good first season, let alone winning the Boulder title. It already felt like a great achievement to place fifth in Hachioji, now I'm totally blown away by the gold medal and season trophy I won here in Innsbruck.
“Boulder is definitely my preferred discipline above Lead. I like the fact that you are given multiple attempts to try and top the boulder. It allows me to work on my own style of climbing and make some adjustments along the season.”
Finishing in 14th position in Innsbruck, and Anraku finishing in first, meant that Lee had to settle for second spot in the series, but there were still plenty of highs for the South Korean.
Just like Anraku, Lee didn’t let a disappointing result get to him. Quite the opposite. In Salt Lake City Lee finished 39th after a seventh and fourth place from the previous two events. He followed the low finish with his first ever gold in Prague, beating home favourite Adam Ondra, and also added another medal with a silver in Brixen.
Lee finished the season with 3130 points.
Narasaki Tomoa showed his experience with a string of consistent results to place third overall on 3000 points.
An eleventh place in Innsbruck for Narasaki was actually his lowest finishing position. He placed tenth in both Hachioji and Prague, missing out on finals both times.
Narasaki made finals in Brixen and stepped on to the podium twice during the season with a silver in Seoul and a gold in Salt Lake City.
Full 2023 men’s Boulder rankings can be found here The climbers now turn their attention to the Lead discipline, but will still have Boulder in mind as the IFSC Climbing World Championships takes place in Bern, Switzerland in August with Olympic Games qualification on the line for in both the men’s and women’s Boulder & Lead – the Paris 2024 discipline.
Men's Boulder World Cup podiumPhoto: Jan Virt/IFSC
