Nearly 200 climbers took to the walls in Salt Lake City, USA when the World Climbing Para Series opened in May, and now over 300 are set to compete at the second stop in Innsbruck on 15-16 June.

One of those climbers is Austria’s own Michael Schlegl who competes in the men’s RP1 sport class, and he thinks he knows why it has such a draw for climbers: “I think Innsbruck has a special magic - the backdrop with the mountains in the background.

“Plus, the competition area is set up like an arena, which makes it especially atmospheric and unique for both the audience and the athletes. It’s the home of Austrian climbing.”

For the past few years attendance at Innsbruck has been hovering around the 200 mark. Every World Climbing Para Series event has seen an increase in participation – both thanks to the popularity of the sport, and now the inclusion of climbing into the Paralympic programme - but Innsbruck will set a new bar for participation numbers with 301 registered athletes.

“It’s great to see the community growing and more and more climbers joining in all categories,” said Schlelgl.

The World Climbing Para Series in 2026 goes to North America, Europe and Asia with different destinations and venues offering different climbing, but also different cultures and experiences – but for Schlegl, there’s no place like home:

“I love climbing and it’s beautiful everywhere, but for me, it’s most beautiful at home. It just has that magic of the setting and the crowd. Home is home, and for me, it’s the highlight of the year.”

Schlegl is a relative newcomer when it comes to the World Climbing Para Series stage having made his debut at Innsbruck in 2024, and this will be his fifth competition at the world level.

Having missed the Salt Lake City event, Schlegl will make his first 2026 appearance in Innsbruck and reflects on his off season saying: “The season is going well I’d say, not quite as I’d hoped since I had a ligament injury in the spring, but luckily, I got back in shape in time. Training was very intense, and I hope it paid off.”

And his goal for his home World Climbing Series event? “To make it to the finals and get a spot on the podium!”

Just like all of the sport classes, the competition will be hotly contested with the men’s RP1 start list boasting names like France’s Aloïs Pottier, Germany’s Korbinian Franck and Norway’s Kim Rishaug who all won medals in Salt Lake City.

Some of the other big names from Austria include Angelino Zelller in the men’s AL1, Jasmin Plank in the women’s RP2 and Linda Le Bon in the women’s B2.

The previous hosts, USA, are bringing a big team with over 40 climbers making the trip to Europe to compete. Some of the names in their squad include Brian Zarzuela in men’s AU2, Maureen Beck in women’s AU2, and Mason Keough in men’s AU3 who all took gold as part of an 18-medal haul in Salt Lake City.

Scattered throughout the 300 climbers there is a total range of experience, both in competition and in podium visits. On one end of the scale there is Japan’s Sho Aita and France’s Lucie Jarrige who are seasoned in both appearances and podiums, to Iraklis Michael who is competing in his very first event representing Cyprus.

South America is represented by countries like Argentina and Brazil who has Marina Dias looking to add to her medal collection in the women’s RP3, and there’s also Oceania interest with Australia bringing a small team of climbers including Sarah Larcombe in the women’s AL2.

The event opens with qualifications at 09:00 (Local Time, UTC +2) on Monday 15 June before the finals at 16:00 the next day which will be streamed live on the World Climbing YouTube channel.

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.