BMC ambassador Shauna Coxsey, most known for winning the title of IFSC Boulder World Cup Champion two years in a row, is gearing up to compete in her first ever IFSC Lead World Cup in Kranj, Slovenia, and her first Lead competition in over five years. Joining Shauna is an incredibly strong GB Climbing Team, all of whom have made semi-finals and finals in at least one competition this season.
This weekend, the world’s elite Lead climbers will be joined by a number of stars in Bouldering as the 2017 IFSC World Cup season draws to a close with the final event in Kranj, Slovenia. Contenders for the silver and bronze in the combined title are Boulder World Cup Champion Shauna Coxsey and Jain Kim of Korea, where only a mere 14 points separate each other, and there’s also a slim outside chance for Akiyo Noguchi of Japan, another Boulder superstar, to edge her way onto the podium. The top spot has already been clinched by Janja Garnbret of Slovenia, who defended her Combined and Lead season titles in China last month, but she will still be going all out for the win at Kranj in front of her home crowd.
Shauna’s first IFSC Lead World Cup
BMC ambassador Shauna Coxsey stands in second position in the Combined rankings due to her results in the IFSC Boulder World Cup events, where she won the overall title for her second consecutive season. If she can perform well enough in the final IFSC Lead World Cup of the year, she might just come away with another medal. However, Shauna will be expecting strong competition from Jain Kim, who has been a strong contender in the Lead discipline all year and hasn’t missed a final since the Tokyo World Cup in June.
It’s been over five years since Shauna last competed in a Lead climbing competition, and it’ll be here first ever time entering an IFSC Lead World Cup. We got in touch with Shauna to hear her reasons for entering:
“I wanted to compete in a Lead World Cup for a few years now. The one in Kranj always appealed to me as it tends to be after the boulder season has finished, and I competed there years ago in the European Youth comps. But the past few years I struggled with injury and was unable to consider entering. This year I feel good, I’m excited to get involved, and it’s an opportunity to see where I’m at ahead of training for the Olympic Games.
“I’ve spent the last few weeks working on my endurance and familiarising myself with unpleasant burning forearms and falling on a rope. I went to Innsbruck, Austria, to get on some comp style routes too. I have already achieved my goals this year, so I’d like to just climb well and enjoy myself. I’m really looking forward to exploring a new world of Competition Climbing.”
Strong GB Climbing Team line-up
While the spotlight is on the Boulder World Cup Champion, we’re also excited to see how the whole GB Climbing Team performs. There’s an incredible line-up of GB athletes heading over, all of whom have made semi-finals this year, and a number have also made it through to some IFSC finals!
Molly Thompson-Smith has had an incredible season so far, winning bronze in the Rock Master Duel event at Arco and placed fifth in one of the three IFSC Lead World Cup finals she made. She’s now ranked as the 8th best female Lead climber in IFSC World Cups, and we’re sure this is only the beginning.
Molly said: “This season surpassed all my expectations! I'm really excited that I've managed a top 10 ranking this year after missing two comps earlier on, and would love to challenge myself to go for a top five ranking next year.”
Meanwhile, Hannah Slaney made her first ever senior IFSC Lead World Cup final this year in Edinburgh, a great event where Will Bosi and Jen Wood made it through to semi-finals also, Jim Pope won the bronze medal in the European Youth Cup in Mitterdorf, Austria, and Will Bosi won bronze in a European Youth Cup also, as well as placing fourth in the IFSC Youth World Championships Combined.
All of these superstar young athletes have been having their best performances this year ever and will be competing in the last IFSC event of the season. Livestreams will be available through the links below, so don’t miss your last chance to cheer them on.
In alphabetical order, competing for us in the women's will be:
Shauna Coxsey
Hannah Slaney
Molly Thompson-Smith
Jen Wood
And in the men’s tournament, we have:
Will Bosi
Jim Pope
LIVESTREAM
WATCH: The livestream of the IFSC Lead Semi-Final in Kranj, Slovenia
VIDEO
WATCH: The livestream of the IFSC Lead Final in Kranj, Slovenia
VIDEO
Full programme
The full programme of the IFSC Lead World Cup in Kranj, Slovenia, is as follows. (All times are in GMT).
Saturday, 11 November
07:00 Men Lead Qualification
12:00 Women Lead Qualification
19:00 Lead Semi-Finals (LIVE)
Sunday, 12 November
16:00 Lead Finals (LIVE)
WATCH: We Are GB Climbing
VIDEO
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🐦SCROLL: GB Climbing on X for live updates
👍 LIKE: GB Climbing Facebook for even more news and photos
👀 VISIT: GB Climbing website and see who's on the team
GB Climbing is supported by the BMC, Mountaineering Scotland and Secur-it . Many UK walls also support the GB Climbing team through free or subsidised entry.
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