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IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup Villars 2021

© Lena Drapella/IFSC

Another round of the IFSC World Cup took place in Villars, Switzerland, over the weekend with climbers competing in Lead and Speed. With the Tokyo games just around the corner, it was an opportunity for Olympic climbers to finesse their comp strategies and for us to get a good look at them.

Slovenian sensation Janja Garnbret remains dominant with 4 out of 5 Lead golds this season  © Lena Drapella/IFSC
Slovenian sensation Janja Garnbret remains dominant with 4 out of 5 Lead golds this season
© Lena Drapella/IFSC

In the women's Lead, Slovenia's Janja Garnbret was dominant from the off, topping both routes in qualification and securing the only top in the semi-finals. Italy's Laura Rogora qualified just behind Garnbret, setting the stage for another exciting final.

Garnbret wasn't the only Slovenian to qualify in the women's event; Lucka Rakovec, Vita Lukan, and Mia Krampl all bolstered the Slovenian domination of the event. 16-year-old Aleksandra Totkova who was competing in her second World Cup eve also qualified for the final.

The men's competition was far more open and it was Italy's Stefano Ghisolfi who topped the Lead qualification rankings, followed by Olympian Alex Megos and the 2019 Lead gold medalist in Villars - Swiss climber Sascha Lehmann.

Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA) topped the men's qualification  © Lena Drapella/IFSC
Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA) topped the men's qualification
© Lena Drapella/IFSC

The semi-finals were a different story for the men. Both Ghisolfi and Lehmann failed to break into the top 8 and it was Spain's Alberto Gines Lopez who grabbed the top spot.

Although not as severe as the deluge in Innsbruck a week before, the weekend was consistently affected by rain and humidity but thankfully this didn't stop the show from going ahead. Garnbret and 20-year-old Rogora both clipped the chains at the top of the route and Garnbret took the gold medal due to her higher placement in the semi-finals. It was the fifth consecutive win at Villars for the Slovenian superstar and her third gold medal in the space of a week. Garnbret will now step back from competitions to focus on her Olympic preparation.

Both Garnbret and Rogora completed the route in the final  © Lena Drapella/IFSC
Both Garnbret and Rogora completed the route in the final
© Lena Drapella/IFSC

The women's competition was decided on countback  © Lena Drapella/IFSC
The women's competition was decided on countback
© Lena Drapella/IFSC

Rogora's silver was only her second medal ever after the gold she won in Briançon last year. The podium was finished by USA's Natalia Grossman for her fifth medal of the season.

Women's Lead Podium  © Lena Drapella/IFSC
Women's Lead Podium
© Lena Drapella/IFSC

In the men's event, none of the competitors managed to top the route but it was a good night for Team USA with Sean Bailey - the gold medalist for the Boulder event in Salt Lake City - finishing the highest and Olympian Colin Duffy finishing third. Alex Megos was in second place.

Men's Lead Podium  © Lena Drapella/IFSC
Men's Lead Podium
© Lena Drapella/IFSC

There's an unusual amount of focus on the Speed in the lead up to Tokyo, as the event has the potential to make or break any Olympic hopefuls. The men's and women's finals were dominated by Russia and Indonesia. Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo, who holds the current men's world record, took his second consecutive Speed win with a time of 5.329 seconds. In the women's final, Russian Ekaterina Barashchuk took the first World Cup gold of her career with a time of 7.306.

Out of the non-speed specialists, it was only Janja Garnbret who made the final and clocked a time of 8.01.

The next IFSC World Cup takes place in Chamonix, France, from the 12th-13th July.


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8 Jul, 2021

Another brilliant lead final. The rise of the Americans looks to be on it's way. Odd how they've never been particularly successful in the recent past other than when the IFSC was help in America.

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