Anraku, Bertone take season titles at Boulder World Cup
Innsbruck (Austria), June 28 (UNI) Japan's Sorato Anraku and France's Oriane Bertone captured the overall bouldering titles as the final stop of the 2025 IFSC Climbing World Cup wrapped up in Innsbruck, Austria on Friday night.
Anraku, the Olympic silver medalist in Paris, clinched his third straight men's season crown after finishing second in Innsbruck. The 18-year-old competed in all six bouldering events this year, collecting three golds, two silvers and a bronze in a dominant campaign.
France's Mejdi Schalck and Japan's Sohta Amagasa placed second and third overall in the men's standings.
China's Pan Yufei achieved a career milestone, finishing 10th in the overall men's rankings, which marked his first time breaking into the season's top 10. The 25-year-old withdrew from the lead climbing the Innsbruck event due to a back injury after failing to reach the boulder final.
"I felt drained throughout the semifinal," Pan said. "I'll skip the rest of the event to recover and focus on treatment."
Despite only competing in four of the six World Cup stages, Pan reached two finals and claimed his first-ever World Cup victory earlier this month.
"This season validated my progress and motivated me to aim even higher," Pan said.
In the women's field, Slovenia's Janja Garnbret made a dramatic return to the competition scene in Innsbruck. The Olympic champion, who had focused much of her season on outdoor climbing, dominated the final by topping all four problems. She was the only climber to do so, despite lower rankings in qualification and semifinal rounds.
Garnbret's gold, however, wasn't enough to shake the overall standings. Bertone secured the season title after taking silver in Innsbruck, followed by Japan's Mao Nakamura and 17-year-old American Annie Sanders in second and third place overall.
China's Zhang Yuetong, who had shown signs of a resurgence this season, suffered a hand ligament injury in Innsbruck and will miss the rest of the World Cup. She finishes the season ranked 31st after reaching two semifinals in four appearances.
UNI XINHUA RKM
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