Toby Roberts wins World Cup Lead Gold
- Tuesday 16th April 2024
Nineteen-year-old British climber Toby Roberts has won the World Cup Lead comp in Wujiang, China. This was the second time he had won a Lead World Cup after winning in Chamonix in 2023 (read the report here). In doing so became only the second British male to do so after Simon Nadin back in 1989-90. Nadin became the first World Cup Climbing Champion in 1989 having won the first ever IFSC Climbing World Cup.
In the final, he fell reaching up for hold 37 to finish with a score of 36+ and, whilst he didn’t top out, it was enough to secure the gold on countback after Japan’s Homma Taisei fell at the same point. Toby commented afterwards; “I slightly misread the beta, but I managed to stay there and compose myself and find the right way luckily.” The IFSC pointed out that, ‘His better result from the semi-final and therefore seeding in the final meant he got the top step of the podium and Homma had to settle for silver.’
Looking forward and with all eyes fixed on the 2024 Paris Olympics for which he had already qualified, Roberts said: “Preparation for Paris is going well and I’m using this competition to see how I am doing after a hard winters training and I just enjoying competing on the comp circuit. So things are going well.” Fellow Brit Max Milne reached his first ever World Cup Lead final and finished a very credible eighth place.
In the Women’s Lead final, Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret yet again showed her class by taking her second IFSC World Cup gold in the space of a week in China after winning the Boulder round in Keqiao. She did it in style by topping the final route in front of a packed audience, the only climber to do so across both the Men’s and Women’s events. She had also topped both qualification and semi-final routes, such was her dominance.
Garnbret said: “I was just having a lot of fun and just excited to be back competing. I had a good start back with Boulder and I hoped I would have the same with Lead, and I guess my Lead shape is as good as Boulder. I’m excited now to go back home and get some more training in before I return to do the World Cup in Innsbruck where I will do Boulder and Lead, and then it’s Paris.”
Local Chinese favourite Luo Zhilu took a silver medal just ahead of South Korea’s Seo Chaehyun who took the bronze medal. Great Britain’s Erin McNeice, competing in her first final, secured her best World Cup result by finishing in an excellent fifth place.
Results:
Men’s
1 Toby Roberts GBR 36+
2 Taisei Homma JPN 36+
3 Sorato Anraku JPN 32+
4 Zento Murashita JPN 24+
5 Sascha Lehmann SUI 24
6 Hannes Van Duysen BEL 24
7 Shuta Tanaka JPN 23+
8 Maximillian Milne GBR 23+
9 Shion Omata JPN 21+
Women’s
1 Janja Garnbret SLO TOP
2 Zhilu Luo CHN 44+
3 Chaehyun Seo KOR 43+
4 Natsuki Tanii JPN 40
5 Erin Mcneice GBR 39
6 Laura Rogora ITA 34+
7 Natsumi Oda JPN 34+
8 Mia Krampl SLO 34+
9 Manon Hily FRA 21
You can see the full results here