Welcome to Behind the Wall, your weekly digest on what is happening in the climbing competition world.
This week, I look back at who had a breakout season in 2024. As usual, I recap the news over the last couple of weeks and share my favourite media.
With the World Cup circuit starting soon, I’ve updated all the information on where you can buy tickets for World Cups this year. I will continue to update this as more tickets get released.
I also recap what competitions you can watch this weekend.
Who had a breakout season in 2024?
In 2023 only the Brits could tell you anything about Erin McNeice.
She had won CWIF in 2023, beating Jenya Kazbekova, Alannah Yip and Chloe Caulier. Yet, in her first full year on the World Cup circuit, McNeice’s best result was 17th at the Boulder World Cup in Seoul, South Korea. Seoul was the only semi-final she reached all year in Boulder or Lead.
2024 was different.
The difference was immediate. McNeice reached the final at the first Boulder World Cup of the year in Keqiao and then her first Lead semi-final and final in Wujiang. She finished 5th in both.
McNeice would go on to qualify for the Olympics through the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) events, despite qualifying for the series in 36th place.
McNeice went on to reach the final at the Olympics and finish 5th overall.
She then became the 4th British woman to win a World Cup medal when she won the bronze medal in the Boulder World Cup in Seoul, finishing 3rd behind Zélia Avezou and Annie Sanders.
McNeice wasn’t the only athlete completing in the OQS events to break through last year.
Zélia Avezou (France) also had a breakout season. She finished in the top 5 at every Boulder World Cup she competed in, winning a silver medal in Seoul. She also reached two Lead World Cup finals in Chamonix and Koper. In the OQS, she finished 8th in Shanghai and 14th in Budapest and qualified for the Olympics. She finished 14th at the Olympics.
Zach Hammer (USA) also blossomed during the OQS Speed events, and secured his Olympic spot with consistent sub-5.2 second runs in both events. He finished 7th in both.
He also reached three Speed World Cup finals, a massive improvement over 2023. His highest finish last year was 5th in Salt Lake City.
Yafei Zhou jumped onto the Speed scene winning the Shanghai OQS event. running sub 7-seconds on every run. She followed up with a second place finish at the Budapest OQS event. She would finish 7th at the Olympics and win the Seoul Speed World Cup later in the year.
In 2023, Annie Sanders reached two Boulder World Cup finals, and the combined final at the 2023 World Championship. She didn’t break the top 20 in a Lead World Cup in 2023. However, in 2024, she took it to another level.
She finished 15th in the OQS series, missing out on the last American Olympic spot to Brooke Raboutou.
Sanders went on to win four World Cup medals last year across Lead and Boulder - three bronze and one gold. She became the 7th woman from the USA to win a Boulder World Cup, in Seoul.
She finished 4th in the Boulder World Cup Series despite competing at only 3 World Cups. She was 6th in the Lead World Cup series and reached every final at the 4 Lead competition where she competed.
The Olympic events affected the World Cup circuit, with many athletes not attending to prepare, or recover, for an Olympic event. Their absences gave many athletes an opportunity to win their first medals.
Mei Kotake (Japan) started competing in Boulder World Cups back in 2013, reaching two finals. Her highest rank was 4th in Chongqing, 2016. She stopped competing in Boulder World Cups after the Hachioji World Championship in 2019.
She started competing in Lead World Cups in 2018, and she reached four finals. She took a break during the 2023 season before returning to competition in Innsbruck this year, winning a bronze medal in Chamonix and then a gold medal in Briançon. Kotake said after receiving her gold medal in Briançon
“I still can't believe I have won my first gold. It's been a long journey for me to get on the World Cup podium. With many of the top climbers not competing, I thought it was my time to win, and I'm happy I made it.”
Mattea Pötzi started competing in Boulder World Cups in 2019, changed to focus on Lead in 2022. Last year she reached four finals, winning a bronze medal in Briançon. She also finished 6th at the European Lead Championship. She had only broken the top 10 once before in 2023 at the Villars Lead World Cup.
2024 was the year Naïlé Meignan returned to the circuit after she broke her leg in December 2022. In the spring, the former Youth World Boulder Champion finished 2nd at the French National Championship, earning herself a spot on the French national team.
At her first World Cup back, she finished 3rd in Salt Lake City. She then won the European Championship in Boulder. Finally, Meignan would finish 2nd in Prague behind four times World Cup Series winner, Natalia Grossman.
Last year, we saw many youth athletes perform well on the circuit in their first few senior competitions.
Max Bertone (France), Oriane Bertone’s younger brother, reached two World Cup finals, finishing 4th in Briançon and 6th in Koper. Guillermo Peinado Franganillo (Spain) reached his first final this year aged 19.
Jenny Buckley from Slovenia dominated the youth and senior European Boulder competitions before rocking up to Innsbruck to win a silver medal at her first Boulder World Cup. Gregor Vezonik named her as the future of Slovenian climbing on a recent podcast.
In 2024, Julian David (New Zealand) confirmed that he is one of the fastest men on the Speed wall, breaking the Oceanic Continental record multiple times. David reached his first World Cup final in Briançon. He also reached the Olympic final, beating Reza Alipour Shenazandifard (Iran) in his elimination round run. He finished 8th in the Olympic Final.
Flora Oblasser (Austria) broke onto the circuit with two Lead final appearances in Chamonix and Briançon. Other youngsters who reached their first finals included Agathe Calliet (France), who finished 3rd in the European Championship, and reached her first Boulder World Cup final in Seoul. Rosa Rekar (Slovenia) reached two Lead finals, finishing 4th in Chamonix and 6th in Seoul. Natsumi Oda (Japan) reached two Lead finals, in Wujiang and Briançon.
Last but not least, Oceania Mackenzie’s (Australia) finally broke through last year after a slow rise from her first World Cup final back in 2019. She qualified for the Olympics last year, so did not need to compete in the OQS events. At the Olympics, her Lead progression helped her to reach the final and she finished 7th overall.
On the World Cup circuit, Mackenzie reached three World Cup finals, including her first Lead final. In Prague, she finished 3rd, winning her first World Cup medal. It was also Australia’s first able-bodied World Cup medal in Sport Climbing. Her consistency through the season meant that she finished 2nd in the Boulder World Cup Series.
News
- Janja Garnbret released her signature line of climbing equipment in collaboration with Camp.
- Euroholds will be the World Cup Ranking sponsor this year. Men’s and women’s winners of the 2025 IFSC World Cup Series’ in Boulder, Lead, and Speed will all receive a trophy supplied by Euroholds.
- The IFSC had to cancel the Klagenfurt World Cup after a sponsor pulled out. They are looking to replace the Speed World Cup venue.
- April Fools' Day was yesterday, and the best posts I saw were:
- Jakob Schubert decided to rearrange some large boulders using machinery to create some harder climbs.
- Adam Ondra announced a rap tour for his latest rap song.
- Crux Climbing Centre announced the return of old-school climbing using hemp ropes, period harness and removing the crash pads for one day.
- Evolv released some dual-tex shoes.
- Central Rock Manhatten advertised their ‘recycled’ chalk.
- Denver Bouldering Club started offering crag dog training and
- Ascent Studio announced severed hours for their severed members.
- Last weekend there were three competitions which I completely missed when writing this newsletter last week: Delft Bleau International Youth Open, The North Face Cup, and the German Championship. There was also the fun Tenzing Harrow Climbing Competition. Here are the results:
You can re-watch the final with commentary from Matt Groom.
- U15 Female: 1. Geke Havermans (NED), 2. Jessica Ward (GBR), 3. Nienke Kodde (NED)
- U17 Female: 1. Mara Matutinovic (CRO), 2. Mirthe Nuijens (NED), 3. Lynn Robichon (NED).
- U19 Female: 1. Bibi Hamers (NED), 2. Tessa Robichon (NED), 3. Yara Meye (NED)
- U21 Female: 1. Bente Schiffeleers (NED), 2. Kseniia Zakharova (UKR), 3. Isa Wolf (NED)
- U15 Male: 1. Soann Docquier (BEL), 2. Nout Govaerts (BEL), 3. Oliver Benke (GER)
- U17 Male: 1. Tijn Exalto (NED), 2. Toma Croome (GBR), 3. Finn Wuestenbergs (BEL).
- U19 Male: 1. Roko Sipsma (NED), 2. Twan Heuff (NED), 3. Daan Van Overloop (BEL)
- U21 Male: 1. Tom Jenkinson (GRB), 2. Mark Shutko (UKR), 3. Korneel Vrij (BEL)
The North Face Cup 2025
Re-watch the live-stream on YouTube.
- Women D1: 1. Melody Sekikawa, 2. Mao Nakamura, 3. Nanako Kura
- Men D1: 1. Meichi Narasaki, 2. Daiki Sano, 3. Yusuke Sugimoto
German Championship
Media Recommendations
Here are my favourite media recommendations from the past week:
Oriane and her father share the story of her rise within climbing. They reflecting on how Oriane started climbing on La Reunion Island and how her relationship with her father changed as she grew up. The film was originally released in July, just before the Olympics. The film is in French with English subtitles avaliable.
The Testpiece Podcast
Shauna Coxsey sat down with Josh to talk about parenting while climbing for a living, the stresses of competition climbing, and the how parenting is way easier than training and competing at the Olympics.
Max Milne explains why winning Plywood Masters matters so much to him. The film dives into his mental game and how he feels during the competition.
Kyra Condie shares a session on her home wall, including close-ups of all her favourite holds.
Jake and Niki share their favourite blocs from the Studio Bloc Master’s qualification boulders.
Competition Tickets
With the season approaching, I’ve gone hunting to find out where and when tickets will be available.
- 18th – 20th April Keqiao IFSC Boulder World Cup Ticket information still to be announced.
- 25th – 27th April Wujiang IFSC Lead & Speed World Cup Ticket information still to be announced.
- 2nd – 4th May Bali IFSC Lead & Speed World Cup The competition will be free to attend. It is not yet known if tickets are required for entry.
- 16th – 18th May Curitiba IFSC Boulder World Cup Ticket information still to be announced.
- 22nd – 25th May Salt Lake City IFSC Boulder World Cup and IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
- 31st May – 1st June Denver IFSC Speed World Cup Tickets will be released around 2nd April through USA Climbing.
- 5th – 8th June Prague IFSC Boulder World Cup Tickets are still on sale.
- 12th – 115th June Bern IFSC Boulder World Cup Tickets are still on sale.
- 23rd – 29th June Innsbruck IFSC Boulder and Lead World Cup & IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup Tickets go on sale in April and June:
- 7th April: World Cup Passes for the whole event.
- 28th April: Single Day Tickets - early phase.
- 16th June: Single Day Tickets - late phase.
- 5th – 6th July Krakow IFSC Speed World Cup This event is free of charge, and no tickets are required for entry.
- 11th – 13th July Chamonix IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup This event is free of charge, and no tickets are required for entry.
- 17th – 19th July Madrid IFSC Lead World Cup This event is free of charge. It is not yet known if tickets are required for entry.
- 28th July – 3rd August IFSC Youth World Championships in Helsinki. Tickets are for:
- 4th – 6th September Koper IFSC Lead World Cup Tickets will be made available here.
- 19th – 28th September Seoul IFSC World Championships Tickets will be needed for the following (All indoor events):
- Paraclimbing Finals
- Speed Qualification & Finals - Women and Men
- Lead Semi-finals & Finals - Women and Men
- Boulder Semi-finals & Finals - Women and Men
All other events are free of charge. However, access to the venue is limited, and entry is regulated on a first-come, first-serve basis.
- 23rd – 26th October Laval IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup Ticket information still to be announced.
What to Watch
This weekend is the Rome IFSC European Cup, which will be live-streamed on the IFSC Europe page. The event is free to attend on a first-come, first-served basis due to limited seating. All times are local times (UTC+2).
Saturday 5th April
Sunday 6th April
