Japan's Suzuki Neo and Slovenia's Janja Garnbret took the top spots in the semi-final rounds
Lead finalists at the World Climbing Series Innsbruck 2026 have been decided at the end of an action-packed day, with Suzuki Neo of Japan and Janja Garnbret of Slovenia topping the men’s and women’s standings, respectively.
Suzuki continued his strong season by leading the men’s field, while Garnbret ensured she will hold the tie-breaking advantage in tomorrow's final after placing first in the women’s round.
SUZUKI LEADS, GINÉS LÓPEZ FOLLOWS
Suzuki topped the men’s standings with a score of 52, continuing a season that already includes a gold medal in Wujiang, China, and a silver medal less than two weeks ago in Prague, Czechia.
Current men’s Lead Series champion Alberto Ginés López of Spain followed in second place with 48: the Spaniard bounced back from missing the final in Prague and will return to the medal round after also taking silver in Wujiang earlier this season.
Italy’s Giovanni Placci produced one of the standout performances of the evening, finishing third with 46+ and advancing to his first final at World Cup or World Climbing Series level. The Italian climber previously reached the final at the Climbing World Championships Seoul 2025 and will now compete for medals on the senior circuit for the first time.
The Italian climber said: "After the first two comps, where I felt very strong, but couldn't perform, I had a bit of a down period, mentally. Then I switched my mindset and just wanted to enjoy it.
"Innsbruck is such a cool comp, I trained a lot here. When I went out, tonight, I found such a good flow, I was like floating on the wall. I was so excited that the crowd disappeared for me, I don't know, I was not thinking anymore! I'm very happy to be here and compete in such an amazing place. I lived here for a few years, so I can call it my second home, it feels amazing.
"I was scared because there were very strong climbers after me, and I didn't know exactly how the route was, because I didn't saw the climbers before me. I knew I was first, because I saw brother and he said 'First!', but then I knew two people had the fall, and it's bad to hope the people falls. I just want to enjoy this moment, enjoy this feeling... I hope I will have a good final."
HOME HERO ADVANCES
Home favourite Jakob Schubert of Austria delighted the Innsbruck crowd by advancing in fourth place with 39+.
Joining him in the final are Putra Tri Ramadani of Indonesia, who placed sixth with 39+ after winning the first Lead gold medal of his career in Prague, and Adam Ondra of Czechia, who secured seventh place with a score of 37.
The men’s final promises an intriguing mix of experienced champions and emerging contenders, with seven different nations represented among the eight finalists. The full list of men's finalists is as follows:
- Neo SUZUKI (JPN)
- Alberto GINÉS LÓPEZ (ESP)
- SORATO ANRAKU (JPN)
- Giovanni PLACCI (ITA)
- Jakob SCHUBERT (AUT)
- Putra Tri RAMADANI (INA)
- Adam ONDRA (CZE)
- Luka POTOCAR (SLO)
For the men's Lead complete results click here.
GARNBRET CLAIMS THE ADVANTAGE
In the women’s competition, Garnbret once again demonstrated why she remains the benchmark in Lead climbing. The Slovenian topped the standings with a score of 43, securing the valuable countback advantage for the final.
The importance of finishing first was highlighted earlier this season in Wujiang, where Garnbret was forced to settle for silver after a tie on the final route was decided by semi-final ranking. This time, the two-time Olympic champion ensured she enters the medal round from the strongest possible position.
Seo Chaehyun of South Korea placed second and continued her impressive run of consistency after winning bronze in Wujiang and silver in Prague.
Seo commented: "The route was quite hard, and I was nervous. I did good, but I wanted to get to the roof, because it feels always good to top a hard route. But it was fun, it had very unique moves.
* "Personally, I prefer to have semi-final and final in the same day, but this was it's also good because we can have a big crowd in the night. It's amazing. Tomorrow I will rest well, get ready for the final. I want to mantain my consistency this year."*
A TIGHT BATTLE FOR THE FINAL
Annie Sanders of the USA qualified fourth with a score of 41, continuing an outstanding Innsbruck campaign less than two days after winning women’s Boulder gold.
Behind the top four, the route produced one of the closest battles of the season. A total of 11 climbers finished between holds 35 and 36, occupying positions fifth through 15th in the standings.
The best four of those athletes all scored 35+ and secured the remaining places in the final. Among them was Manon Hily of France, who advanced to the seventh final of her career. The 32-year-old French climber will be looking for the second World Cup podium of her career after previously winning bronze in Briançon, France, in 2023.
The full list of women's finalists is as follows:
- Janja GARNBRET (SLO)
- Chaehyun SEO (KOR)
- Jessica PILZ (AUT)
- Annie SANDERS (USA)
- Erin MCNEICE (GBR)
- Manon HILY (FRA)
- Yuetong ZHANG (CHN)
- Rosa REKAR (CHN)
For the women's Lead complete results click here.
NEXT UP
The World Climbing Series Innsbruck 2026 will conclude tomorrow with the men’s Lead final, starting at 19:40 (UTC+2:00) and followed by the women's one.
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.
