IFSC commentator Matt Groom reports on the fifth IFSC Boulder World Cup of the 2023 season, where GB Climbing's rising star Toby Roberts became only the third British man to win an IFSC Boulder World Cup and the USA's Natalia Grossman won her second gold of the season.

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Last year the IFSC visited Brixen in northern Italy for the first time. This weekend we were back and I was really looking forward to the trip. It's a beautiful spot, nestled in the mountains with good coffee and pizza in copious supply and an amphitheatre-style stadium providing the perfect stage for the world's best competition climbers. 

This is the last dedicated Boulder-only World Cup of the year (Innsbruck next weekend hosts both Boulder and Lead), but there were a few big names who decided to skip it and train for Lead. Last week's gold medallist Oriane Bertone (FRA) had chosen to train as had her teammate Mejdi Schalck (FRA), while Janja Garnbret (SLO), and Brooke Raboutou (FRA) were also missing

The women took to the stage first on Saturday. Team GB fought hard, with Holly Toothill (GBR) the highest-ranked finisher in 31st, finishing strong with two flashes. Molly Thompson Smith (GBR) was further down in 57th, and it looked like her ankle injury might have been holding her back a little. Finally Zoe Peetermans (GBR) was 67th, a young athlete with lots of potential.

A big name missing from the women's final was Hannah Meul (GER), who finished 8th and outside of finals by one attempt to Top. Having won her first silver medal in Brixen last year and started with a silver in Hachioji this season, Hannah wrote that she had high hopes for Brixen, but that she had had a less-than ideal build-up after taking a break since Seoul and overcoming a short illness. 

The women's podium was defined by athletes who have had to really work for their success. Winning a medal at this level is not easy. Everything has to come together at once. You need the physical performance, the right mental head space and the boulders have to suit your style and skin.

Staša Gejo (SRB) last won a medal at the Moscow World Championships in 2019 and she has battled a nasty knee injury on her journey towards another. I've got to know her well over the years and she's a regular in the commentary box with me. I know how much effort she puts into training, and doesn't receive a huge amount of funding. 

Staša's success came down to the final climb, but started with a flash of Boulder 1. The climb was a coordination style run and jump, and she was the only athlete to flash. It was scrappy and hard-won - she only just made it - but it was a hugely important flash. Staša tends to get a little bit inside her head. A start like that tends to signal that it's going to be a good round for her. 

She was on a roll, figuring out the first hard moves of Boulder 2 with a high foot that was much harder to place than it looked. Stasa struggled here. Then she pulled out some magic with a flash on the awkward Boulder 3 slab…despite a scary moment where she missed the top and dropped down to a jug. The smile on her face at the end said it all: relief and amazement.

The final climb, and the high-pressure moment arrived. She needed a top, but it was the most physical one of the set, requiring a nasty rotation through a crimp and thumb catch. It was a moment to grit your teeth and dig deep. Stasa managed it on her third attempt, although came close to dropping the top, her left toe just catching in the correct position. Suddenly she was top of the leaderboard with only Natalia Grossman (USA) and Chaehyun Seo (KOR) able to beat her. 

There was a time when Chaehyun Seo (KOR) was more known for her lead climbing. She challenged, and beat Janja on a rope but had to start to diversifying when she qualified for the Olympics. Since then she's been working hard at improving her bouldering and we've seen real progress. However, the year so far has been tough, without the results she wanted.

Finally it all came together and Chaehyun jumped ahead of Staša for her best-ever Boulder World Cup finish with a silver medal. She started off badly, going again and again on the first Boulder but missing the Top and only managing a Zone. As she walked off the mats, Chaehyun seemed to switch gears. She came out full of determination and simply walked through the rest of the climbs. Impressive flashes of Boulders 2 and 3 left her needing a top in just two attempts to get the silver medal. 

She committed to the nasty wrist rotation, and topped out the boulder first try, with a small smile on her face the whole time. That smile turned into a beaming grin as she jumped down, and in a rare show of pure emotion did a celebration dance on the mats. Chaehyun is another climber who has had to work hard for her goals.

If only Chaehyun had climbed the first boulder, she might have taken victory, but Natalia Grossman (USA) had returned after a break in Prague. It wasn't a perfect round for Natalia. She also had to try hard and you could almost see her forcing out negative thoughts, bringing a smile onto her face when things got difficult. Her defining moment came on Boulder 3. The slab-like feature created by stacking volumes, needed a jump to latch the Zone. Natalie fell on the move again and again, her hands making contact but slipping down the jug as she swung sideways. 

She found something different when it seemed impossible. On her seventh try, Natalia made it through the move and triumphantly matched the top hold. On Boulder 4 she still needed to focus, but a flash secured her the win and her second gold medal of the season. 

The rest of the women in the final put on a great show. Ayala Kerem (ISR) pulled out a flash on the last climb - a gutsy, gritted-teeth attempt - and came 4th. Oceania MacKenzie (AUS) got a personal best finish in 5th, and it was good to see Johanna Färber (AUT) back in a finals where she belongs with a Top on Boulder 4 and 6th place. 

Only 18-year-old Toby Roberts (GBR) progressed to the finals from the British team, but there were four male athletes in the semi-finals. Hamish McArthur GBR) finished highest (apart from Toby) in 10th, his highlight being a flash of Boulder 2 and Max Milne (GBR) was close behind in 11th. Jack MacDougall (GBR) was impressive in his first senior Boulder semi-finals, the 17-year-old climber making the transition over from the youth circuit.

The wall in Brixen is steep with little slab real estate on it. This means that the routesetters are forced to create powerful boulders to take full advantage of the angles available to them. This was most evident in the men's final, where it was less about coordination moves and dynos and more about pure hard climbing.

It was a truly nail-biting final, with nothing decided until the last climber had finished. Last week's gold medalist in Prague, Dohyun Lee (KOR), wasted no time in making an early statement. Everyone had been struggling with the powerful toe catch release, a move needed to get to the Zone, but Dohyun didn't have a problem. He sent the Boulder in around 35 seconds, and walked away looking confident. 

Toby had qualified in first place for the final, and had a moment of looking a little overwhelmed as he stepped out onto the mats to climb last. He quickly forgot any nerves though, solving the toe catch by sliding his right hand down a no-tex hold to slow the swing. He also climbed the boulder, leaving him in second place due to attempts.

Boulder 2 was the hardest of the set, with brutal crimpy moves where body tension was needed throughout. It was special to watch Sorato Anraku (JPN) become the only athlete to unlock the Top — and in just two tries, a real demonstration of strength.

At this point the podium was still wide open and to add to the drama there was a hidden beta break on Boulder 3 that only two climbers found. Meichi Narasaki (JPN) spotted it first, and skipped the tenuous move up to the Zone by jumping left. In hindsight it was a fairly obvious workaround, but hard to see in the moment. His brother Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) also climbed the boulder that way, while everyone else stuck to the intended beta. 

With the scores too close to call, everything came down to Boulder 4. The climb started with a reach up and press move before trying to get friction on one of the worst hand holds I've seen at a comp. It was a very marginal, slopy volume that the climbers could either match and jump right to a shoulder move, or do it more dynamically, with just one hand on the sloper. It was a move that required skin and energy, a big ask at this point in the competition. 

It was brutal, which made Yoshiyuki Ogata's (JPN) flash even more impressive. When he's on form he climbs with fluidity and ease. The flash meant he secured a medal, which became bronze after Dohyun and Toby climbed.

The pressure fell first to Dohyun Lee (KOR), and he flashed to the Zone, but struggled on the final physical sequence. He hung on, half-way up the boulder, even finding a no-hands knee bar rest. I've never seen a climber find a rest like that on a final boulder, but even with that he couldn't regain his energy. With a Zone on the board, Dohyun could only sit back and see if Toby would beat him.

It was simple, Toby needed to Top the climb to win gold…or fail and come 4th. It was high drama, the kind of moment where you get to really witness an athlete's mental strength. After two attempts where he gained the Zone, but fell at the top, Toby pulled on for the third time. 

What followed was the definition of 'try hard'. He refused to fall off, using elbows, knees, palms and forearms to stay on the wall. He 'left it all on the Boulder', as he later told the IFSC, grinding his way through and matching the final holds for his first ever gold medal and his second podium of the season after his bronze in Salt Lake City. In his post-climb interview, he said:

"Words can't explain it, I feel absolutely incredible. The fight on that last boulder, I have no words, I had to give it absolutely everything. I left it all on the boulder and I can't quite believe I won my first World Cup. It's so surreal.

"Because we see the scores in the back I knew I had to top, so I was just trying to stay calm and look at the boulder as just a boulder and not think about anything else, but it's pretty hard when you are in that environment. The crowd was incredible and part of the reason I got up it."

He is only the fourth male British athlete to win an IFSC Boulder World Cup after Malcolm Smith in 2002, Mark Croxall in 2005, and the first to do so in 16 years since Andy Earl's win in La Réunion in 2007.

Toby will now have to reset for Innsbruck in a few days' time, but Team GB can be proud that a new contender for Olympic qualification has emerged. 

A huge thank you to all my co-commentators and Alannah Yip (CAN) who was excellent as always in the finals. 

Boulder Men

Boulder Women