Erin McNeice qualifies for Lead World Championship finals in Seoul

GB Climbing's Erin McNeice has secured her place in the Lead World Championship finals, continuing a remarkable season that has already seen her crowned the overall Euroholds Lead World Cup champion.
The 21-year-old climber from Great Britain, delivered a powerful performance in today’s semi-final round, placing third behind Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret and home crowd favourite Chaehyun Seo. The top eight athletes progressed to tonight’s final, which marks on of the first major test of the LA28 Olympic cycle.
McNeice, who has already claimed gold medals in Wujiang and Bali and bronze in Chamonix and Innsbruck this season, also made headlines with a Boulder World Cup gold in Bern, where she topped all four problems in the final.
In Seoul, she began the semi-final round confidently after placing second in qualifications. The route featured two demanding cruxes and a headwall that required some immense body tension. No climber reached the top, but McNeice’s dynamic and composed climb - despite a heart-stopping slip midway - secured her spot in the final.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s final, McNeice said:
“It means a lot, especially with it being at the end of the season. I’m not the most confident - I just sort of hyped myself up beforehand - and it feels good to have climbed just like myself and make World Championship finals.
“It was a very good route. My favourite and worst moment was the save on the big sloper. It was terrifying and my heart is still going, but it feels cool to recover from it and climb the rest quite nicely.”
Click here to view the full results.
The Lead World Championship final begins at 10:55am GMT and will be streamed live on the IFSC YouTube channel.
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