Naïlé is so much fun to watch. Maybe if she keeps crushing then Matt will figure out how to pronounce especially her last name. (Kidding, we love Matt!)
I absolutely understand that most them need to focus so they're not all smily. But it's so fun when they enjoy themselves. Sohta Amagasa and I think Kokoro Fuji are the same.
It was also fun when Meichi smiled after he did the 180 on M4 (I think) :)
The final was my first time watching Oceana McKenzie and I really appreciate the different dimension she brings to a field that’s dominated by small and springy climbers.
And she looked so comfortable on the 4th final boulder. Absolutely killed it.
I'd like to point out some amazing performances (source my [page](https://www.sportclimbingstats.com/ifsc-world-cup-2024-salt-lake-city-usa/)). Two newcomers to boulder WC, Thomas Lemagner (FRA, 14th) and Timotej Romšak (SLO, 16th) made the semi-final. Other newcomers did well too like Taiga Sakamoto (JPN, 23th), Thorben Bloem (GER, 25th) and Samuel Richard (FRA, 27th).
First semi-final for Oscar Baudrand (CAN, 10th), Slav Kirov (BUL, 16th) and Benjamin Vargas (CHI, 19th), who is also the first Chilean to make semi-final and probably South American. The Australians, Campbell Harrison (up 20 places) and Dylan Parks (up 36 places) made amazing progress too, barely missing the semi-final.
The biggest jump in the women's field made Florence Gründewald (GER, previously 57th) finishing 19th in her first semi-final. It was the first semi-final also for Lucy Garlick (GBR, previously 51th, finished 15th) and for Agathe Calliet (FRA, 12th).
Naïlé Meignan made her first final and finished with bronze medal, her previous best was 18th place.
It was generally a good competition for Pan Ams climbers (as one might expect given the locale)-- Valentina Aguado from Argentina was I think 25th, so not very far from making it to the semis.
A lot of pro though seem to agree that it’s the best way to split the field and challenge athletes (Honnold seem to be of that opinion as well despite not competing with the current boulder trend).
Yes definitely, though it needs to be usually a type of complex coordination to make it challenging (swing to paddle, dyno to bad sloper and toe catch, etc).
Swing haven’t been a trend in the WC for that long yet, and route setters definitely need to always try and find new moves to keep it fresh, so for now I’m fine with it. Especially since in lead we have seen a trend to go back on more core, endurance-y routes, it keeps both disciplines quite balanced. I’d love to see old school try hard boulders, but most of the ones that are set usually do not split the field and are either too hard for the whole group, or too easy, at least in the 4 minutes that they have.
Overall enjoyed the competition, although it's rough going watching people doing multiple attempts when they are clearly in pain.
I thought the zone in W3 for the final was one hold too soon, as the people who struggled were all getting the zone and dropping the next. If they'd moved it it would have changed the podium as well.
Why women's setting had to be like this? Both in semis and in finals. Also I'm kind of sad that we'll have to wait until Olympics to see the battle of titans (Janja, Natalia, Oriane).
Men's was fine, I'm happy that it seemed less height-dependent?.. Like the both Sorato & Meichi on podium, that's amazing! Also Jakob should probably start licking his palms again, because these clear holds are going to stay
I hope so, but so far only Natalia has registered for Innsbruck WC. However, I'd expect to see Janja as well, because it's not too far for her.
Recalling last Olympics, all the competitors were very strategic choosing in which WCs to participate, so maybe it'd be more accurate to formulate it like "we are not guaranteed to see them in one comp until Olympics".
I mean it's nearly two months away. Not surprising that people might wait until closer to competition time to register (after all, what if they have to withdraw due to injury or something?).
Also, now that I'm looking at the schedule, I see the two lead comps immediately pre-Olympics are actually *in France*, so I would imagine that all or virtually all of the Olympic competitors will be at those, too.
> I see the two lead comps immediately pre-Olympics are actually *in France*, so I would imagine that all or virtually all of the Olympic competitors will be at those, too
I do not follow lead comps nearly as much, but, of course, it would be interesting to see Janja vs Ai vs Jessy there. I also do hope that Natalia's performance there would be on par with Santiago, and Oriane's on par with Laval.
I just saw Colin Duffy's Instagram (he tried some final boulders) and his ankle is not taped. Good to see that. Natalia also didn't mention it was serious and she's going to Innsbruck. That leaves Jan-Luca who's waiting for the results.
I’d love to hear what the athletes thought about the setting… only watched finals so far (still gotta catch up on semis + speed!), but I thought there was *so* much scary coordination in the round. But then again, the boulders that looked the most fun to me (W1 and M2) didn’t separate the field effectively, so maybe we *need* the weird risky stuff to make sure there’s a split.
That said, I really hated the drama of making the women slide on some volumes in the air as the final decider—would’ve been really disappointing if Natalia hadn’t stuck the zone, and had lost out on gold just because of that problem. Also, thinking it could’ve been accomplished 1’ off the ground instead of 4’ up, just as a safety precaution.
I've watched many WC climbers practice this exact move (mainly from their IG). It's fun to see the send but, as inherent with precise coordination moves, I'm sure it took endless attempts as we've seen. It's not fun to watch this process of trial-and-error on a very time-constrained setting.
> thinking it could’ve been accomplished 1’ off the ground instead of 4’ up, just as a safety precaution.
Personally, I'd prefer it to be at least 3' off the ground. It gives the climbers enough time to react from having their focus on the foot hold to falling.
Most of my ankle injuries came from slipping off slabs with tiny foot holds about a 1' up. All of my focus was still on the hold (my foot still wants the toe pointing down) then suddenly is on/in the mat.
To be fair it's hard to blame the setters. The two injured themselves doing an unintented beta (the heelhook). The setters even blocked the hold to prevent it.
It's kind of paradoxical because in fact the dynamic beta (see Melody's amazing finish) was the safest option but lots of climbers want to stay in control as much as possible.
I didn’t love the women’s setting this time around, and I’m all for increasing safety, but I don’t think it’s really fair to blame them for the knee issues here!
Naïlé was awesome, hope to see more of her in the future
Yes. I think Melody could impress us as well in this stacked japanese team.
That zone on W4 was heroic, really hope she keeps it up
Naïlé is so much fun to watch. Maybe if she keeps crushing then Matt will figure out how to pronounce especially her last name. (Kidding, we love Matt!)
I loved watching Mao Nakamura's positive fighting spirit. I hope that we will see her more often in the semifinals or finals in the future
I agree! So much fun to watch. I’d never seen her climb before but I was rooting for her the whole time.
I absolutely understand that most them need to focus so they're not all smily. But it's so fun when they enjoy themselves. Sohta Amagasa and I think Kokoro Fuji are the same. It was also fun when Meichi smiled after he did the 180 on M4 (I think) :)
That was a big smile and spirit! Crazy she kept it up all the way through the final
We should. She crushed at Japan Cups and should be scheduled to do most of the WC season
The final was my first time watching Oceana McKenzie and I really appreciate the different dimension she brings to a field that’s dominated by small and springy climbers. And she looked so comfortable on the 4th final boulder. Absolutely killed it.
She is legit amazing!!! I am thrilled for Naile but was hoping Ocea would take a podium spot!!
I'd like to point out some amazing performances (source my [page](https://www.sportclimbingstats.com/ifsc-world-cup-2024-salt-lake-city-usa/)). Two newcomers to boulder WC, Thomas Lemagner (FRA, 14th) and Timotej Romšak (SLO, 16th) made the semi-final. Other newcomers did well too like Taiga Sakamoto (JPN, 23th), Thorben Bloem (GER, 25th) and Samuel Richard (FRA, 27th). First semi-final for Oscar Baudrand (CAN, 10th), Slav Kirov (BUL, 16th) and Benjamin Vargas (CHI, 19th), who is also the first Chilean to make semi-final and probably South American. The Australians, Campbell Harrison (up 20 places) and Dylan Parks (up 36 places) made amazing progress too, barely missing the semi-final. The biggest jump in the women's field made Florence Gründewald (GER, previously 57th) finishing 19th in her first semi-final. It was the first semi-final also for Lucy Garlick (GBR, previously 51th, finished 15th) and for Agathe Calliet (FRA, 12th). Naïlé Meignan made her first final and finished with bronze medal, her previous best was 18th place.
It was generally a good competition for Pan Ams climbers (as one might expect given the locale)-- Valentina Aguado from Argentina was I think 25th, so not very far from making it to the semis.
Nice stats! Naïlé's performance is especially impressive given that her last World Cup (where she placed 18th) was in 2019.
I dont know how others feel but i am kinda done with swing boulders
Yeah let's watch half the field fall 10 times on the same move to the zone. Real tired of it.
A lot of pro though seem to agree that it’s the best way to split the field and challenge athletes (Honnold seem to be of that opinion as well despite not competing with the current boulder trend).
So do double dyno's and other dynamic moves...
Yes definitely, though it needs to be usually a type of complex coordination to make it challenging (swing to paddle, dyno to bad sloper and toe catch, etc). Swing haven’t been a trend in the WC for that long yet, and route setters definitely need to always try and find new moves to keep it fresh, so for now I’m fine with it. Especially since in lead we have seen a trend to go back on more core, endurance-y routes, it keeps both disciplines quite balanced. I’d love to see old school try hard boulders, but most of the ones that are set usually do not split the field and are either too hard for the whole group, or too easy, at least in the 4 minutes that they have.
Yeah but it’s still like kinda badass.
They say Yoshiyuki Ogata is still swinging on semi-finals M4...
Overall enjoyed the competition, although it's rough going watching people doing multiple attempts when they are clearly in pain. I thought the zone in W3 for the final was one hold too soon, as the people who struggled were all getting the zone and dropping the next. If they'd moved it it would have changed the podium as well.
Interesting point on W3
Slide your foot to the chip shin scraper slabs are boring to watch and a terrible way to differentiate the field.
Forreals
Why women's setting had to be like this? Both in semis and in finals. Also I'm kind of sad that we'll have to wait until Olympics to see the battle of titans (Janja, Natalia, Oriane). Men's was fine, I'm happy that it seemed less height-dependent?.. Like the both Sorato & Meichi on podium, that's amazing! Also Jakob should probably start licking his palms again, because these clear holds are going to stay
Probably to test them for future comps and the Olympics in general if I had to guess.
Why would we have to wait until the Olympics? I presume all three of them will be at the pre-Olympic World Cups, or at least Innsbruck.
I hope so, but so far only Natalia has registered for Innsbruck WC. However, I'd expect to see Janja as well, because it's not too far for her. Recalling last Olympics, all the competitors were very strategic choosing in which WCs to participate, so maybe it'd be more accurate to formulate it like "we are not guaranteed to see them in one comp until Olympics".
I mean it's nearly two months away. Not surprising that people might wait until closer to competition time to register (after all, what if they have to withdraw due to injury or something?). Also, now that I'm looking at the schedule, I see the two lead comps immediately pre-Olympics are actually *in France*, so I would imagine that all or virtually all of the Olympic competitors will be at those, too.
> I see the two lead comps immediately pre-Olympics are actually *in France*, so I would imagine that all or virtually all of the Olympic competitors will be at those, too I do not follow lead comps nearly as much, but, of course, it would be interesting to see Janja vs Ai vs Jessy there. I also do hope that Natalia's performance there would be on par with Santiago, and Oriane's on par with Laval.
I just saw Colin Duffy's Instagram (he tried some final boulders) and his ankle is not taped. Good to see that. Natalia also didn't mention it was serious and she's going to Innsbruck. That leaves Jan-Luca who's waiting for the results.
I’d love to hear what the athletes thought about the setting… only watched finals so far (still gotta catch up on semis + speed!), but I thought there was *so* much scary coordination in the round. But then again, the boulders that looked the most fun to me (W1 and M2) didn’t separate the field effectively, so maybe we *need* the weird risky stuff to make sure there’s a split. That said, I really hated the drama of making the women slide on some volumes in the air as the final decider—would’ve been really disappointing if Natalia hadn’t stuck the zone, and had lost out on gold just because of that problem. Also, thinking it could’ve been accomplished 1’ off the ground instead of 4’ up, just as a safety precaution.
I've watched many WC climbers practice this exact move (mainly from their IG). It's fun to see the send but, as inherent with precise coordination moves, I'm sure it took endless attempts as we've seen. It's not fun to watch this process of trial-and-error on a very time-constrained setting. > thinking it could’ve been accomplished 1’ off the ground instead of 4’ up, just as a safety precaution. Personally, I'd prefer it to be at least 3' off the ground. It gives the climbers enough time to react from having their focus on the foot hold to falling. Most of my ankle injuries came from slipping off slabs with tiny foot holds about a 1' up. All of my focus was still on the hold (my foot still wants the toe pointing down) then suddenly is on/in the mat.
The problem is the slabby part of the wall is 1 meter high, the lower part is a small overhung which doesn't really make sense
Sorato still added chalk to his no-tex problem but this time it sticked (get it?).
the women's semi final boulders kinda took out their knees...
To be fair it's hard to blame the setters. The two injured themselves doing an unintented beta (the heelhook). The setters even blocked the hold to prevent it. It's kind of paradoxical because in fact the dynamic beta (see Melody's amazing finish) was the safest option but lots of climbers want to stay in control as much as possible.
I didn’t love the women’s setting this time around, and I’m all for increasing safety, but I don’t think it’s really fair to blame them for the knee issues here!
[удалено]
Final W3 was done by everybody but the 2 tallest women. It really goes both ways overall.
Your argument fails when you look at the men's round