Three men secured tickets for an Olympic return in Bern at the IFSC World Championships combined Boulder & Lead final on Saturday evening. Olympic bronze medallist Jakob Schubert (AUT) took his second gold of the Bern events after a close Boulder round and a confident Lead performance ahead of fellow Tokyo 2020 Olympians Colin Duffy (USA) and Tomoa Narasaki (JPN). GB Climbing's Toby Roberts came close in 5th, concluding a gutsy performance across the 12-day championships. 

In the high-scoring Boulder round, Narasaki led by a mere attempt (0.1 points) ahead of Schubert, who exceeded all expectations with four tops and set himself up well for a quota place as an exceptional Lead climber and newly-crowned world champion. Boulder 1 was a burly, power-based problem with a difficult finish, which received only two tops from Narasaki and Schubert. The rest of the field struggled to gain any advantage on the remaining three boulders, two of which were topped by each athlete - a slab and a parcour boulder - and Boulder 3, a powerful roof climb, which received six flashes and two failed tops. 

With fewer than 30 points (29.8) separating first to eighth place in Boulder, all athletes had to gain some ground in Lead to be sure of a podium finish and an Olympic spot.

The Lead route featured a committing reach to a volcano volume, where athletes could attempt to rest before a tricky move to gain the headwall. Dohyun Lee (KOR) and Adam Ondra (CZE) shocked the crowd with unexpected slips out of the volume after composing themselves. Commentator Shauna Coxsey remarked that a campus move had been planned by the route setters to negotiate the volume, but the high heel bumped Lee and Ondra out of the position as they moved up, leaving them both at high risk of being knocked out of the top three.

Jakob Schubert appeared relaxed after banking a high score in Boulder, and climbed through the headwall to 84 points. Since his total of 183.6 could not be bettered by more than two of the subsequent athletes, Schubert - like his compatriot Jessy Pilz the day before - was confirmed for a top-three finish before the last few athletes had even stepped onto the wall.  Toby Roberts (GBR) made a mistake low down in attempting a dynamic toe-hook, but recovered and reached the volcano. As he campused to the next hold as intended, the crowd erupted in support. Unfortunately, he fell short on the next move and finished 5th with 143.4 points. Colin Duffy (USA), who was the youngest climber at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, put his lead prowess into practice and scored 76, bringing his total to 160.7 and securing an Olympic spot after Roberts fell.

Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) scored 57 points, which placed him in provisional third before his 16-year-old teammate Sorato Anraku - a favourite for an Olympic quota place, who had dominated each combined round prior to the final - fell on the same move as Roberts, meaning that he could not surpass Narasaki in the combined score. The 'veteran' of an highly competitive Japanese team had unexpectedly done just enough at the first time of asking — and in front of his wife, Olympic bronze medallist Akiyo Noguchi, who was in the crowd and shown to be in tears of joy on the livestream. 

The athletes who secured tickets in Bern can prioritise rest and training over competing in the continental qualifiers - which take place from next month - and the Olympic Qualifier Series next year.

Jakob Schubert told the IFSC:
 
"Today was a big day, obviously I knew I had to do really well in Boulder to have a chance for that Olympic ticket and the Boulder round couldn't have gone any better for me I think. My dream was to go into the Lead with a lead and then keep my nerves under control, and I think I did a really good job of doing that in the Lead route.
 
"I don't think I actually realise what it means yet. Feels like there hasn't been much time to think about it. I was watching the action and really hoping Sorato [Anraku] could show what he could do because he is such a good climber. I feel like he is the best combined climber right now, I had my day today, but we are definitely going to see him at the Olympics. For an older climber like me, now I can just focus and prepare for the Olympics, calm down a bit and now not do all the comps next year because I'm getting tired doing a lot of comps. So this has worked out perfectly."

 
Colin Duffy commented:
 
"It felt amazing. I was just honoured to be on the stage in the World Championships Boulder & Lead final. This is the most difficult and proud final I have ever made. I just wanted to go into today, enjoy my climbing and not care about the result. I was able to enjoy every second on the wall in the Boulder and stayed calm in the Lead route and I'm very happy to be standing here with another Olympic spot."
 
Narasaki Tomoa (JPN) said:
 
"At first, I felt pressure, but I've been training, training, training and I believed in myself. My wife Akiyo [Noguchi] is here, I think she felt more pressure than me but I'm so happy to get the Olympic ticket in front of her."

Toby Roberts, as the highest-ranked European athlete from this competition, will be one to watch at the European Qualifier event in Laval, France from 27-29 October. On Instagram, he summed up Bern as follows: 'I tried my best but couldn't quite make it stick but I already know this experience has been invaluable.'

Boulder&lead Men