IFSC Youth World Championships Innsbruck 2017 Combined Champions Crowned

After twelve days of competing at the highest level, elite youth athletes climbed on in the Combined finals

of IFSC Youth World Championships Innsbruck this weekend, concluding the competition.

Ovchinnikov, Tanii first Combined champions

Twelve Youth B athletes started the Combined finals on Saturday, racing up the Speed wall for a chance to

stand on the last podiums in Innsbruck. Semen Ovchinnikov of Russia was fastest in the quarterfinal

and semi-final. He faced-off against Ryoei Nukui of Japan in the last match, slipping early to give Nukui

the provisional lead in the Combined. In the final for the six female finalists, Futaba Ito and Natsuki Tanii

of Japan matched each other step-for-step, with Tanii earning the victory by fractions of a second.

There were only tops in the Bouldering final for male athletes. Rei Kawamata of Japan rose to provisional

first in the Combined with a perfect score of four flashes, conquering massive features and the dynos

of M4 on the first attempt. Ovchinnikov required only one more attempt for his four tops to place second.

The final for the female athletes started with a runand-jump which every finalist completed. A steep F2

and the bolt-hole clusters of F3 troubled a couple athletes, but not Ai Mori of Japan. She was the only

climber to flash every problem, including a grueling F4 with powerful roof moves. Tanii placed second by

attempts for the provisional lead in the Combined.

On the Lead wall, Hidemasa Nishida set an unmatched high point to finish third in the Combined. Kawamata fell lowest but placed second with his Bouldering victory and Speed score, and Ovchinnikov became the first Combined champion in Innsbruck by scoring well across all three disciplines. Ito, Mori and Tanii closed out the Youth B action. Ito fought the pump to within a few moves from the top for third place, Mori impressed with the first top forsecond, and Tanii concluded the round with a finaltop to surpass Mori in the Combined rankings.

Stöckler wins first gold medal for Austria

The nonstop action on Saturday continued with the Combined finals in Juniors. American Kai Lightner

squeezed past Kai Harada of Japan by five hundredths of a second in a quick small final.

Yoshiyuki Ogata got off to a good start in the big final but his Japanese teammate Meichi Narasaki, the only

finalist to climb below eight seconds, finished strong to place first. Claire Buhrfeind, one of the Speed

favorites, fell in the female quarterfinal against Aika Tajima of Japan. Tajima was bested in the small final

by Laura Stöckler, racing in front of her home crowd. Her compatriot Franziska Sterrer slipped against

Speed standout Iuliia Panteleeva of Russia in the big final. Panteleeva had been fast throughout the round

and secured an early lead in the Combined.

Narasaki and Ogata matched their superb Speed results in Bouldering as the only finalists to top the first three problems, with Narasaki placing first by attempts. Harada and Lightner couldn’t solve the slab of M1 but maintained strong positioning in the Combined after cruising past the powerful and dynamic moves of M2 and M3. The first problem proved the difference maker for the female finalists when everyone solved the jump start of F3 and failed

to top F2 and F4. Stöckler flashed the tenuous slab problem and placed first, followed by Panteleeva who

solved the concluding match perfectly but found one less bonus hold. Margo Hayes of the United States

also topped and finished in third place by attempts.

Lead climbing under the lights concluded the firstday of Combined finals in Innsbruck. William Bosi ofGreat Britain fought to a high point which stood formost of the round. Ogata later surpassed Bosi’smark, leaving a small margin of error for Narasaki.First in Bouldering and Speed, Narasaki neededfourth or better to win the Combined. He did exactlythat, battling fatigue after a week of intensive sportclimbing for the victory. For the female athletes,Buhrfeind set a formidable mark, but Stöckler stuckthe crux dyno and continued onward for theCombined victory in front of a roaring home crowd

Next step taken towards YOG Buenos Aires 2018

In Youth A, the top 20 male athletes and top 20 female athletes at IFSC Youth World Championships

Innsbruck advanced to Combined finals, a major qualification event for Youth Olympic Games Buenos

Aires 2018. 13 Youth A athletes qualified for selection to these Games, in accordance with the rules listed in

the qualification system, to be announced after the confirmation from the National Olympic Committees.

Speed finals took place on Saturday and results were determined by time, with two heats per athlete.

Georgiy Morozov of Russia was the fastest male athlete, posting the only time below seven seconds

(6.92). French star Sam Avezou joined the handful of athletes scaling the 15-meter Speed wall within 8

seconds, a group that also included Cristian Dorigatti of Italy and Chinese teammates DiChong Huang and

YuFei Pan. Among female athletes, their compatriot YiLing Song registered the lowest time (9.05).

Aleksandra Kalucka of Poland and Russian teammates Elena Krasovskaia and Luiza Emeleva also

stopped the timer in under than ten seconds.

The Combined finals concluded today with the next rounds in Bouldering and Lead. Most finalists

flashed the first problem, leaving the remaining three problems to determine the results. Half of the

athletes maintained friction on the volumes of M2 to the top, including Nathan Martin of France and Filip Schenk of Italy. Both athletes continued their streak of flashes on the next problems, sticking the onehanded

dyno of M3 and keeping their composure on the walk across M4 for a perfect scorecard. Martin

maintained an edge in the Combined with a better Speed performance. For the female athletes, again

almost every athlete topped the first problem and multiple finalists fought past the ladder of blocks on

F2. Brooke Raboutou and Ashima Shiraishi of the United States joined three other stars at three tops

after flashing the following power problem. Only Austrian Sandra Lettner topped all four problems,

showing a diverse set of strength and technique on the last problem to take the lead in the Combined.

Valentina Aguado of Argentina was the only other athlete to top F4 and placed second in Bouldering.

The towering Lead wall in Innsbruck was the final challenge for the best Youth A sport climbing

athletes in the world. Shuta Tanaka of Japan set a high point on the burly last route which no finalist

could match, finishing sixth in the Combined results. Avezou marched to within a few holds of Tanaka’s

mark, taking the provisional lead in the Combined. When Keita Dohi of Japan fell short, Schenk needed

second place or better to win the Combined. He climbed strong to equal Avezou’s score, but a slower

time (3.58 minutes compared to 3.20) bumped him down to third in Lead and second in the Combined,

handing Avezou the crown. Petar Ivanov of Bulgaria rounded out the podiumwith quality performances in

all three disciplines. All eyes were on Lettner in the female final. She maintained her lead in the

Combined, falling just beneath the high point of her teammate Eva Maria Hammelmüller. Raboutou

matched Lettner, but again time separated the athletes (4.04 minutes compared to 3.45) and

secured the Combined victory for Lettner. Shiraishi closed the competition with one hand slipping off the

top hold for first in Lead, second in Combined, and Raboutou rounded out the podium in third place.

More highlights can be found on the event page, and please click here for the full Combined results.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Joseph ROBINSON - Pierre-Emmanuel DANGER, IFSC Press Officers

Mobile: +33 651485215 - +33 672230735 l Email : press@ifsc-climbing.org

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