A little over a month after the inaugural competition of 2021, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) is about to offer a binge of sport climbing in Salt Lake City, where two IFSC World Cup competitions are scheduled to take place in the span of 10 days:
- Today and tomorrow the IFSC Boulder World Cup
- May 28-30 the IFSC Boulder and Speed World Cup.
In Meiringen, Switzerland, it was Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret and Czech Republic’s Adam Ondra who finished with the gold medals, but with the former not registered to compete at the second Boulder World Cup of the season, the debate is open on who is going to climb atop the podium following Garnbret’s eight consecutive victories.
Is it going to be one of the Olympians set to compete in Salt Lake City, like Great Britain’s Shauna Coxsey, Japan’s Miho Nonaka, or United States’ Kyra Condie? Or is France’s rising star Oriane Bertone going to best the third place she obtained at her World Cup debut in Meiringen?
Alongside Ondra, the men’s event will be star-studded: Canada’s Sean McColl is set to make its first World Cup appearance in 2021, while current Boulder European Champion Jernej Kruder of Slovenia will fight to improve the seventh place he obtained at the first World Cup of the season.
In total, 106 athletes will compete in Salt Lake City – 55 men and 51 women, including more than half of Sport Climbing’s Olympic field of 21 climbers. Among them, Italy’s Ludovico Fossali, Michael Piccolruaz, and Laura Rogora; South Africa’s Christopher Cosser and Erin Sterkenburg; and Switzerland’s Petra Klingler.
The schedule of the competition is:
Friday, May 21 (UTC-6:00)
9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., women’s Boulder qualification
3:30 – 9 p.m., men’s Boulder qualification
Saturday, May 22
11:00 AM-1:15 PM: men’s and women’s Boulder semi-finals
5:00 PM: women’s Boulder final
Followed by: men’s Boulder final
News and updates about the IFSC Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City will be available on the IFSC website and on its social media profiles: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
