Will Shauna Coxsey come back from injury to retain her crown? Can the Japanese team get even stronger than they already are? This weekend is the start of the 2017 IFSC Boulder World Cup season.
It was the ultimate hat-trick start last year for BMC ambassador Shauna Coxsey, as she took the top-spot in the first three competitions of the season in a display of strength and determination that would eventually see her crowned the 2016 IFSC Boulder World Cup Champion . Unfortunately, the last round of the season took its toll on the champion, as she left Munich requiring surgery on her shoulder and missed out on competing in the 2016 IFSC World Championships.
Fortunately, Shauna is back in action, ready to rock, and is excited to take to the world stage again this year.
Boulder World Cup Contenders
Aside from our very own Shauna Coxsey, after an exciting and emotional victory at the IFSC World Championships Paris last September, Petra Klingler will certainly be in the spotlight at Meiringen, climbing in front of her home crowd. Despite an injured knee, she has proven this off-season that she remains a formidable competitor, coming second at Climbing Works International Festival (CWIF) against a world-class line-up.
Other strong contenders include Anna Stöhr, who just this week became the fourth woman to climb font 8B+ with her ascent of New Base Line in Magic Wood, Switzerland, and in a spectacular show of form also climbed Steppenwolf (8B) in the same day. Meanwhile, Team Japan members Miho Nonaka and Akiyo Noguchi, who finished second and fourth in last year’s season rankings respectively, will also be looking to start the season off with podium finishes.
Team Japan will be the ones to watch this season, after coming in overall first last year. Season champion Tomoa Narasaki mystified audiences with his ability to float up the blocs all last year (especially with his victory at Paris preventing Adam Ondra from defending the world title), and his teammate Kokoro Fujii continues to stand tall on IFSC podiums.
Meanwhile, Aleksei Rubtsov of Russia also left the arena wearing Gold last year, and his enthusiasm has him aiming high again this year, and we can expect Jongwon Chon of Korea to also be battling for the podium top spot this season.
Rule changes
A few changes to the rules are to be introduced this year by the IFSC, including the reduction of climbing time to four minutes flat in Bouldering finals – meaning they have to top before the buzzer.
WATCH: The trailer for the IFSC Boulder World Cup Meiringen
VIDEO
GB Climbing Team
Shauna Coxsey will be looking to defend her crown. Meanwhile, after coming third at CWIF this year and finishing ranked 12 over the season last year, Michaela Tracy has worked hard and set her sights much higher. Leah Crane is also hoping to move up into the top ten and, now with a few seasons under her belt, Tara Hayes is sure to continue to impress.
For the men, Matt Cousins, last year's newly crowned British Bouldering Champion, could be strong competition for the World Cup regulars. He will be joined by veterans and former British Bouldering Champions Dave Barrans and Tyler Landman, and strong youths Nathan Phillips, Billy Ridal and Orrin Coley.
Competing for us in Round One in Switzerland will be:
Women:
Men:
WATCH: the livestream
VIDEO
The IFSC had signed a three-year deal with subscription-based US streaming company Flosports to bring IFSC Climbing World Cup events to its platform. However, after feedback from federations and competitors, and an online petition , this weekend's livestream will not be running on FloClimbing .
Semi-Finals
The livestream of the IFSC Bouldering World Cup Semi-Finals will start at 10:00BST on Saturday 8 April.
Finals
The livestream of the IFSC Bouldering World Cup Finals will start at 17:30BST on Saturday 8 April.
Full programme
The full programme of the IFSC World Cup in Meiringen, Switzerland, is as follows. (All times are in BST).
Friday, 7 April
09:00-13:30 Qualification Men
15:30-19:30 Qualification Women
Saturday, 8 April
10:00-13:00 Semi-Finals Men and Women – (LIVE)
17:30-19:30 Finals Men and Women – (LIVE)
19:30 Awards Ceremony – (LIVE)
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