At the Bouldering World Cup in Bern, Britain's Erin McNeice and China's Yufei Pan each won their first gold medals. In the men's final, a particularly spectacular move raised safety concerns.
There were weather turbulences in Bern due to the indoor venue – nevertheless, the penultimate stop of the Boulder World Cup caused some surprises.
Yufei Pan wins surprisingly
Yufei Pan not only won the first Bouldering World Cup medal of his career in Bern, but also the first gold medal. The 24-year-old beat France's Mejdi Schalck by 0,1 points to second place – in the new ranking this represents only one attempt.
It feels unreal. Over the past few years, I've often felt like I wasn't good enough.
Yufei Pan
Mejdi Schalck emerged as the clear favorite during the final, topping the first three boulders. After Yufei Pan's top spot in M4, he slipped to silver due to the number of zone attempts. Sorato Anrakus Third place was chosen based on the number of attempts.
McNeice triumphs with four tops
The victory of the British woman was much less surprising Erin McNeice, who has already won two gold medals in the Lead World Cup this season. The 21-year-old is the first British woman to win a Bouldering and Lead World Cup – an enormous goal for the young athlete.
I am so happy and also a little shocked.
Erin McNeice
With four tops and two flashes in the final, McNeice remained untouchable for her competitors and won with a clear lead over Annie Sanders and Miho Nonaka, who finished second and third, separated by only one attempt. Nonaka won bronze, her 2th World Cup medal.
Spectacular train creates safety appeals
In the men's final, the second boulder caused a minor controversy: About half of the athletes had already suffered massive falls onto the relatively hard mat. Three coaching teams subsequently filed appeals – citing safety concerns.
Benjamin Hartmann, coach of the Japanese national bouldering team, subsequently commented on the incident on Instagram: The mat in Bern was too hard to cushion the athletes' falls – often on their backs and the back of their heads – softly enough.
These moves are cool, but we really need to talk about mat safety.
Benjamin Hartmann
Especially for lightweight athletes, Hartmann says, falls on mats that are too hard create an unnecessary risk of injury: "I would be happy if we could soon see improvements in this important issue."
After an interruption, the final continued, with Mejdi Schalck and Sorato Anraku being the only finalists to top the controversial boulder.
Next: Bouldering season finale & lead in Innsbruck
The next and final stop of the Bouldering World Cup will take place from 25 to 29 June in Innsbruck Not only will a Lead World Cup be held there – but also Janja Garnbret makes her long-awaited season debut.
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Credits cover photo: IFSC