The finals in lead climbing could hardly have been more emotional and surprising. In the women's category, Ai Mori wins in a duel with Janja Garnbret. In the men's competition, Jakob Schubert is aiming for his fifth gold medal at the World Championships, benefiting from the misadventures of several competitors.
The news about the 2023 World Cup will be presented by Unparallel, Petzl and Bächli Bergsport
Had in the women's lead semifinals Janja Garnbret the young athlete Ai Mori have to give way. The Slovenian busted at 47, the Japanese managed 52. When Garnbret then climbed to the top in the final, it seemed like it was almost over - especially since none of the other finalists had done it before her. But since Ai Mori had the better semi-final result in her pocket, she was able to oust the Slovenian high-flyer from the throne with a top. And that's exactly what she did.
Highlights Day 6 | Video

Strong starting field for women
Garnbrett's teammate Mia Krampl, who had been within podium reach for a long time as an early starter with a 42, was eventually bumped into a thankless fourth place by Korea's Chaehyun Seo. But the bronze goes to Seo, which is absolutely deserved. She climbed extremely precisely right from the start and at 47+ presented a solid mark that was enough for a podium by the end of the final.
The level in the final was very high overall. That's how the Americans lay Brooke Raboutou, who already won a medal while bouldering last night, the Austrian Jessica mushroom as well as the Italian Laura Rogora very close together.
Sport Climbing World Cup: Ranking list of final lead women
Rank | First Name | Name | Country | Points |
1 | AI | MORI | JPN | top |
2 | JANJA | GARNBRET | SLO | top |
3 | CHAEHYUN | SEO | KOR | +47 |
4 | MIA | KRAMPL | SLO | 42 |
5 | BROOKE | RABOUTOU | USA | +39 |
6 | JESSICA | MUSHROOM | TUE | 39 |
7 | LAURA | ROGORA | ITA | +36 |
8 | MIHO | NONAKA | JPN | 32 |
9 | MOLLY | THOMPSON SMITH | GBR | +26 |

Unparallel Souped Up:
Highly functional climbing shoe for bombproof toe hooks
Modern route style forces duel of generations
With the spectacular final route, the route setters succeeded in creating a good difficulty in order to divide the strong field of participants sufficiently and at the same time to offer the audience a decent show. The route also forced unusual movements and creative solutions in the men's lead final.
The Japanese youngster did very well with this modern route setting style in the competition Sorato Anraku rightly so. The 16-year-old high-flyer, who has already shown his incredible talent at various World Cups this season, made a powerful announcement as the fourth starter at the age of 48.

This was only possible for the four-time world champion from Austria, Jakob Schubertto counter something. Just below the top he was able to initiate the movement to the next hold at the same point as the Japanese and thus secured the 48+.

hirundos:
Light, comfortable harness for performance-oriented climbing
The Hirundos is intended for athletic climbers for indoor and rock climbing. The narrow, light strap ensures maximum freedom of movement and is comfortable even when hanging freely. The four gear loops offer space for all the necessary equipment and the reinforced rope eyes permanently protect against rope abrasion.
When two take it easy, the third is happy
Now it was no longer in Jakob Schubert's hands whether he would win his fifth world championship title. Adam Ondra flew unexpectedly early out of the route and thus out of the podium zone.
So it was up to the British Toby Roberts, to contest the title of Schubert. The youngster showed tremendous endurance and an iron will in the semifinals. But he also made a small mistake and botched the first dynamic jump in the lower third of the route.

The beneficiary of this blunder is the German climber Alex Megos. With a 40 he wins the world championship bronze medal in lead climbing and of course he was very happy about this gift from Ondra and Roberts. But the greatest joy was for Jakob Schubert, who can crown his long career with a fifth world championship title.
Sport Climbing World Cup: Ranking list final lead men
Rank | First Name | Last Name | Country | qualification |
1 | JACOB | SCHUBERT | TUE | 1 |
2 | SORATO | ANRAKU | JPN | 2 |
3 | ALEXANDER | Mego | GER | 7.35 |
4 | DOHYUN | READ | KOR | 11.62 |
5 | AO | YURIKUSA | JPN | 6.71 |
6 | PAUL | JENFT | FRA | 10.06 |
7 | SEAN | BALEY | USA | 11 |
8 | ADAM | ONDRA | CZE | 3.16 |
9 | IT WOULD | ROBERTS | GBR | 2.83 |
That might interest you
- Janja Garnbret flashes for World Cup gold | Result final bouldering women
- French one-two: Mickael Mawem gold, Mejdi Schalck silver | Result final bouldering men
- This is how you can follow the Climbing World Cup in Bern in the live stream
Content partner Climbing World Championship 2023
The coverage of the Climbing World Championships 2023 in Bern is presented by Unparallel, Petzl and Bächli Bergsport:
Maximum grip, well thought-out designs and "hand-made in California": The brand "unparallel» not only convinces with many years of experience in the production of climbing shoes, but also relies on a sustainable philosophy - as well as on a selection of specially developed rubber compounds that are exclusively processed by long-standing, local partners.
Our Company has been managed for 50 years on the basis of four pillars: The stability of our family business, the promotion of the pioneering spirit for the development of first-class solutions, the guarantee of industrial excellence with a zero-defect goal and the close cooperation with the people of our communities with whom we share globally proven techniques for more security.
We love the mountains and live for the mountains. As the biggest Swiss specialist for mountaineering we offer a uniquely wide and high-quality range for all alpine sports. With us, thoroughbred mountaineers, mountain enthusiasts and beginners will find a wide range of equipment in our branches with main shop and outlet or online at the fairest price.
Do you like our climbing magazine? When we launched LACRUX, we decided not to introduce a payment barrier. It will stay that way, because we want to provide as many like-minded people with news from the climbing scene.
In order to be more independent of advertising revenue in the future and to provide you with even more and better content, we need your support.
Therefore: Help and support our magazine with a small contribution. Naturally you benefit multiple times. How? You will find out here.
+ + +
Credits: Cover picture Lena Drapella