Multiple stars will compete at IFSC World Cup Arco this week, the fourth Lead and Speed event of 2017.
Arco, Italy, has gathered top sport climbers for decades and this year welcomes a renowned group of Lead and Speed athletes for its 7th year of IFSC events.
Desgranges and Garnbret stellar in finals.
Reigning season Lead champion Janja Garnbret of Slovenia has won every IFSC Lead World Cup this season. Fresh off a Bouldering victory at IFSC World Cup Munich last weekend, she will have to contest again with The World Games winner Anak Verhoeven of Belgium to continue the winning streak. Verhoeven wowed the crowd last year, topping the final route that stumped every finalist midway except Jain Kim. The Korean veteran has performed consistently all season long and is currently ranked third in the world.
For the men, Romain Desgranges has set the high point in every IFSC Lead World Cup final in 2017. The Frenchman handled the pressure at IFSC World Cup Briançon, winning in front of the home crowd. Italian Marcello Bombardi and Keiichiro Korenaga of Japan have been the only athletes to stop him this year. Korenaga bested an elite field at The World Games in Wroclaw, and Bombardi won his first Gold medal at IFSC World Cup Chamonix on countback and time.
Exciting season debuts in Lead
A few star athletes will be competing in their first IFSC Lead World Cup of 2017. World Lead champion Adam Ondra of the Czech Republic climbed in finals last year and is back on the start list. This time he will have to contest with German Alexander Megos, who just missed the finals cut in Munich. In the women’s field, 16-year-old Ashima Shiraishi of the USA is set to make her IFSC World Cup debut at Arco on Friday. She has yet to lose an IFSC event at the youth level.
Alipourshenazandifar, Kaplina chase records
Russia maintains a strong lead in the Speed team ranking this season, having placed two athletes on every IFSC Speed World Cup podium. Iuliia Kaplina lowered her own women’s Speed world record three times this year, and Russian teammate Mariia Krasavina has joined her on three podiums. Fractions of seconds separated Kaplina and Anouck Jaubert of France in the final matches of IFSC World Cup Villars and Wroclaw, and the rivalry continues at Arco.
Reza Alipourshenazandifar also broke a Speed world record this year for the men, and he continues to approach the new mark. At Wroclaw, he became the first Iranian athlete to win Gold at The World Games. Vladislav Deulin has medalled at every IFSC Speed World Cup this season and will be joined by Russian teammate Stanislav Kokorin at Arco. China’s Speed legend QiXin Zhong is also on the start list.
Don’t miss the action
Watch all the stars compete in semi-finals and finals at Arco on August 26th, LIVE on the IFSC homepage.
Find the schedule, starters and 2016 highlights on the Arco event page, and chat with us on Twitter during the LIVE action by adding #IFSCwc to your tweets.
IFSC WORLD CUP (L,S) ARCO (ITA)
Provisional Programme (GMT + 2)
Friday, August 25
09:00 Lead Qualifications
19:00 Speed Qualifications
Saturday, August 26 (LIVE)
11:00 Lead Semi-Finals 17:00 Lead Finals 19:00 Speed Finals 20:30 Award Ceremony.
INFO: IFSC
