Last Friday, the IFSC Word Cup returned to Prague, in the Czech Republic, for the fourth boulder World Cup of the season.

With home nation - and global - favourite Adam Ondra reporting that this would be his last ever appearance on the Boulder World Cup circuit, the Prague World Cup was one that offered plenty to remember, albeit not always for the reasons you might expect...

As in Salt Lake City, British representation in Prague was strong. Erin McNeice led the charge in qualification, finishing in third place, with Emma Edwards squeezing into semi-finals too in 25th, and Zoë Peetermans finishing in 33rd. In the men's, Jack MacDougall qualified in an impressive 5th, Toby Roberts and Max Milne shared 19th, and Hamish McArthur follwed closely behind in 23rd, all making semi-finals. Dayan Akhtar and Sam Butterworth didn't quite make the cut, finishing in 31st and 53rd respectively.

When it came to the semis, it was a similar story to that of Salt Lake City for the men, with all four missing out on the final - Jack MacDougall by just one place.

However, whilst semis were as far as it went for Emma Edwards in Salt Lake City, she managed to go one step further in Prague, progressing to the final in 5th place, with Erin just ahead in 4th.

Peculiarly, though, Emma will have to wait for her first appearance in a World Cup final. Windy weather and 'the inability to ensure the safety of the athletes and spectators' led to the final of the Women's side of Finals day being cancelled, meaning that the results from the semi-final stood.

As such, it was Oriane Bertone - who missed out on gold in Curitiba by 0.1 points, and who missed out on a podium position in Salt Lake City due to countback - who took the top spot, her second in her career, having also won in Prague at its debut on the World Cup circuit in 2023.

Speaking after the semi-finals, Oriane said:

'When I was in qualis I walked through the same corridors I did when I won. I feel happy, and I want to show again I am able to do it. The first three comps were frustrating for me, as I know I have the level to do great things, but I am so close, yet not doing it. If I could do it here, that would be so awesome."

'I don't have much volume since I started climbing again. I took two months off after the Olympic Games and volume isn't my big strength at the moment, so I am trying less but with more quality than trying a lot and wasting tries. It wastes energy, and I want to avoid this'.

'I'm quite happy because I topped a bunch of boulders. I'm a bit disappointed I didn't top the last one, it was just a bit weird, and I didn't manage to find my way. It was a flash or fail boulder. Going up again was a bit hard, it was very pushy, and being tall it was quite hard – not an excuse, just I know now what I need to work on'.

Oriane's teammate Agathe Calliet joined her on the podium - her first time in World Cups - in second place, whilst Melody Sekikawa of Japan took home the bronze medal, also her first time on the podium.

On the men's side of things, sadly it wasn't to be the fairytale ending we wanted for Adam Ondra. Whilst he qualified comfortably for the semi-finals, his 15th place finish in the semis meant Adam had officially completed his final round of World Cup Bouldering.

He would, however, be back in Prague the following year, albeit in a discipline he finds slightly more appealing:

With Sorato Anraku qualifying for the final in first place, and Mejdi Schalck, Sohta Amagasa, and Dohyun Lee a stone's throw behind, it promised to be the same familiar faces on the podium, likely with the same person on top. 

However, Sorato was unable to make it four golds from four appearances, having instead to settle for the silver medal - incredibly, his second worst finish of the entire World Cup season so far, across both Boulder and Lead. 

'Two years ago here I was seventh, last year I was fourth, and now second, so next year, first', he said, 'Honestly, I'm not disappointed with the result. The final had a lot of coordination, I'm not bad at it, but I'm not great either. I have to say the boulders and the crowd here were amazing'.

With a 5th place finish in Keqiao, a 2nd place finish in Curitiba, and a 6th place finish in Salt Lake City, it was finally Mejdi's turn to take home the gold in Prague. Finishing fifteen points clear of Sorato, he was a deserving winner, for what is now the fifth time in Boulder World Cups.

'It feels a bit like a comeback because last year I had a pretty hard year. I didn't qualify for the Olympics, so I stayed focused and trained really hard this winter, so it's a comeback. I'm back, and it feels good to be back', he said.

'I really liked all the boulders; it was a lot of coordination and dynamic boulders which is really my style, so I liked it. The second was the hardest, I was the only climber to send it, and it was a big fight for that. It was crazy. The crowd was cheering, and it was amazing'.

Compatriot Samuel Richard finished third, meaning France took four of the six medals available, with Japan taking the other two. 

'I felt pressure after semis but I was relieved I was in finals as it was a bit of a lifetime objective' Samuel said. 'To medal too is crazy. I was relaxed in finals, shaking a little, but I was in the mood because I knew it was already good just making it there'.

Boulder Women

Boulder Men

Full results available here.