Women's bouldering goes to the wire after unstoppable Anraku dominates again in the latest climbing World Cup

Yahoo

25-05-2025

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Naile Meignan won her first-ever World Cup gold in Curitiba. | Credit: Getty Images
The fourth climbing World Cup competition of the 2025 season concluded over the weekend after two thrilling days of climbing in Curitiba, Brazil. Round four was the second bouldering event of the year.
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Not sure how it works? Jump to the bottom of this article for a handy IFSC World Cup explainer.
Women's competition
The women's competition ended with a thrilling finish as France's Naile Meignan beat her compatriot Oriane Bertone by just 0.1 points.
Both were near-flawless throughout the competition, cruising through qualifying and the semi-finals before their tense final encounter in front of 1,200 spectators.
21-year-old Meignan came out on top following two near-perfect performances, in which she notched up 99.6 points and Bertone scored 99.5.
The knife-edge victory represents Meignan's first-ever World Cup gold, while Bertone, who's only 20 herself, earned her tenth podium finish.
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"It feels amazing to win in my first competition of the year. I wasn't expecting to be this good, but for sure it feels great," an ecstatic Meignan told the IFSC after the event.
'I was a bit tense on the first boulder, but then I felt more confident and was able to flash the following three problems."
This year's women's climbing competition looks a little different due to the absence of two of the world's best all-around climbers.
45-time World Cup gold medalist Janja Garnbret will miss most of this season as she takes time to rest, while world champion Natalia Grossman is recovering from long-term knee injuries.
Men's competition
The men's competition ended in a familiar fashion, as Japan's Sorato Anraku won his third gold of the season with a composed and powerful climb in the final.
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The 18-year-old dominated the early rounds, leading in qualifying and the semi-finals, before racking up 69.7 points in the final, 10.8 more points than second-placed Mejdi Schalck of France.
Victory in Curitiba puts clear water between Anraku and anyone else in the bouldering competition after another gold in the season opener in Keqiao, China.
The teenage prodigy also tops the lead climbing table and is quickly establishing himself as the world's best multi-discipline male climber.
"I'm very happy for my second World Cup gold in a row," he told the IFSC after the final.
"I'm not thinking about winning the Series, I will focus on one event at a time, so now it's time to focus on Salt Lake City (the next event)."
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Anraku burst onto the scene with an unstoppable run in last season's bouldering competition. By the close, he'd amassed a whopping 500 points more than anyone else, to claim his title as the world's best male boulderer.
What is the IFSC World Cup?
The IFSC World Cup is a year-long climbing competition that pits the world's best climbers head-to-head in lead climbing, speed climbing, and bouldering competitions.
Sorato Anraku is leads 2025/26 bouldering World Cup table | Credit: Getty Images
It takes place across 14 different World Cup stages, held across the globe and throughout the year.
Points from each competition are tallied up, and climbers are ranked on separate leaderboards for each discipline. These rankings decide the eventual world champions.
What's next?
The world's best boulderers have little time to rest as the next IFSC World Cup is also a bouldering event and takes place from May 23 to 25 in Salt Lake City, USA.
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You can also check out the first para-climbing World Cup of the year, which is also in Salt Lake City, on May 21 and 22.
The upcoming event is the first of three para-climbing World Cup competitions this season and pits the world's best climbers living with disabilities against one another over two tense days of competition.
For more on para-climbing, check out our expert guide.