In just eleven days, the best Sport Climbers in the world compete at the newly renovated AccorHotels Arena in the City of Lights for the 2016 IFSC World Climbing and Paraclimbing Championships.
Bouldering: Japan in the Driver’s Seat
Japan soared to first place in the National Team Ranking for Bouldering this year, and their elite Athletes will certainly attract attention in Paris. With the inclusion of Sport Climbing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, such is all the more true. Tomoa Narasaki finished 10th at the IFSC Bouldering World Championships in Munich in 2014, but the 2016 Bouldering World Cup champion is poised for a podium this year. Runner-up Kokoro Fujii may join him. Also keep an eye on Akiyo Noguchi, who earned Bronze in 2014, and Miho Nonaka, who finished 2nd Overall this year in the 2016 Bouldering World Cup rankings. Champion Shauna Coxsey of Great Britain will not be competing in Paris due to an injury.
Lead: Slovenia vs. Ondra
Adam Ondra stole the show in 2014 by becoming the first Athlete to win both Lead and Bouldering in the same year. A month separated Munich from the IFSC Lead and Speed World Championships in Gijon, and to repeat the Czech Republic star must do so in the same week. Frontrunner of the 2016 Lead World Cup rankings, Domen Skofic, will try to stop him. Janja Garnbret was absent from the 2014 competitions, but look for Skofic’s Slovenian teammate in the Finals. Jain Kim of Korea has been strong enough this year to don the Gold again, and Anak Verhoeven of Belgium dazzled at the IFSC World Cup in Arco.
Speed: Gold Rush
Also in Arco, Anouck Jaubert of France became the first Woman to win three consecutive IFSC Speed World Cups. She will try to unseat Russian Alina Gaidamakina in Paris. For the Men, Marcin Dzienski of Poland also won his third in a row in Arco. He bested 2014 champion Danyil Boldyrev to do so. Currently ranked third, the Ukranian Speed World Record holder can even the score in Paris.
Paraclimbing : Legends of Inspiration
In Women’s RP3 (limited range, power or stability) look for Elodie Orbaen of Belgium near the top ranks. The victor of the 2014 World Paraclimbing Championships in Gijon won the most recent Paraclimbing Cup in Campitello di Fassa, Italy. Hungarian Melinda Vígh also won at Campitello in Women’s AU-2 (forearm amputees), but she will have to contest with Maureen Beck of the USA in Paris. With the absence of Beck’s American teammate and 2014 champion, Christa Brelsford, runner-up Kate Sawford of Canada will have her sights set on Gold in Women’s AL-2 (leg amputees). In Men’s AL-2, Urko Carmona Barandiaran was the only Athlete to reach the Top in 2014. The Spaniard also donned Gold in Paris at the 2012 World Paraclimbing Championships, but Julien Gasc of France climbed higher in Campitello and is among the Starters this year. Gasc’s French teammate, Nicolas Moineau, will try to best Koichiro Kobayashi of Japan in Men’s B-1 (blind visual impairment) after falling shy of his high point in Gijon. Be sure to track the progress of 2014 champion Mathieu Besnard as well in Men’s RP3 (limited range, power or stability).
Power in Numbers
Thursday, the Fédération Francaise de la Montagne et de l’Escalade (FFME) extended ticketing options.
By consolidating 20 or 40 applications, individuals can access the Silver category group rates for the weekend. For lower prices and improved seating, please email contact@worldclimbing2016.com with the number of your party by September 8 at 12:30.
The window for purchasing individual tickets will remain open until September 9 at 12:30 (GMT+2). Both the Gold and Silver categories are still available for Saturday and Sunday, in addition to weekday tickets. They can be purchased here.
A Weekend On-the-Air
While our top Athletes cut through the air, our broadcasting team will be airing LIVE all the Semi-Finals and Finals for Lead, Bouldering, and Speed. Tune-in to the IFSC website September 16th-18th:
http://www.ifsc-climbing.org
Replays, Starters/Results and further information can be found on the dedicated Paris event page.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Twitter during the competition with the hashtag #IFSCwch.
IFSC WORLD CLIMBING AND PARACLIMBING CHAMPIONSHIPS (LEAD, BOULDER, SPEED, PARACLIMBING) PARIS (FRA)
Wednesday, September 14
09:00-16:00 Bouldering Qualification Men
10:00-15:00 Lead Qualification Women
10:00-15:00 Paraclimbing Qualifications
Route 1 All Categories
Thursday, September 15
09:00-14:00 Paraclimbing Qualifications Route 2 All Categories
09:00-16:30 Lead Qualification Men
10:00-15:00 Bouldering Qualification Women
Friday, September 16
11:00-13:30 Speed Qualifications Men & Women
18:30-21:30 Paraclimbing Final Women RP3, Women AU-2, Men RP-1, Men B-2, Men RP-2, Women AL-2, Men RP-3
19:00-21:30 Bouldering Semi-Final Men (LIVE)
19:00-21:30 Lead Semi-Final Women (LIVE)
21:30 Awarding Ceremony Paraclimbing
Saturday, September 17 (LIVE)
09:00-11:30 Lead Semi-Final Men
09:00-11:30 Bouldering Semi-Final Women
17:00 Opening Ceremony (Not LIVE)
17:30-19:00 Bouldering Final Men
19:00-19:30 Paraclimbing Final Men B-1 (Not LIVE)
19:30 Awarding Ceremony
20:15-21:00 Speed Final Men
21:00-22:00 Lead Final Women
22:00 Awarding Ceremony
Sunday, September 18 (LIVE)
12:00-13:30 Bouldering Final Women
13:30-14:00 Paraclimbing Final Men AL-2 (Not LIVE)
14:00 Awarding Ceremony
14:45-15:30 Speed Final Women
15:30-16:30 Lead Final Men
16:30 Awarding Ceremony.
