The first Asian stop of the 2015 IFSC World Cup took place in Chongqing this weekend. In Bouldering, Akiyo Noguchi from Japan managed to hold onto gold despite fierce competition from the rising stars,

After taking Bronze in Shauna Coxsey travelled with fellow team GB member Leah Crane to Chongqing in China to compete in the third round of the Boulder World Cup.

The municipality of Chongqing in Southwest China was once again in the spotlight this weekend, and the heat didn’t prevent the world’s best boulderers and speed climbers from putting on an impressive show in front of a large crowd.

In bouldering, Canadian all-rounder Sean McColl took the gold medal after completing all four problems in the Finals – a performance which places him third in the overall ranking. Rising stars Jongwon Chon of Korea and Tsukuru Hori of Japan placed second and third respectively, thus establishing themselves as forces to be reckoned with in competition climbing this season.

In the women’s field, all-time favourite Akiyo Noguchi secured gold after an almost flawless performance, having climbed all four problems of the Finals in only five attempts. She is now far ahead in the overall ranking, and with only three Bouldering World Cups left this season, it is a real question whether she can still be beaten. In the meantime, rising star Miho Nonaka of Japan secured second place just ahead of Great Britain’s Shauna Coxsey, who needed one more attempt to complete a problem.

Shauna is now 3rd in the overall World Cup rankings with 167 points - 11 points behind 2nd place ranked Miho Nonaka, with Akiyo having an almost unassailable lead of 260 points!

Team GB's Leah Crane finished 21st for the third time in a row, narrowly missing out on the semi-finals, in what where very hot and humid conditions for all the athletes.

The Boulder World Cup stays in China and next weekend moves to Haiyang, so will Shauna be able to move further up the podium in hopefully cooler conditions.

The Senior Bouldering Team are supported by the Arch Climbing Wall.

You can watch the whole of the finals in Chongqing again below.

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