On Saturday at the IFSC World Cup Salt Lake City, Anraku Sorato made an impressive climb on the final boulder route. The 17-year-old Japanese sport climbing star won his second career boulder World Cup title, bringing his total number of World Cup wins to five. Anraku topped three of the four routes and made the zone on the fourth, securing victory in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
Anraku had won silver in boulder at Salt Lake City last year before taking home his first World Cup boulder title in Innsbruck, Austria. Narasaki Meichi took home the silver medal this time, while Austrian veteran Jakob Schubert won bronze. Schubert’s win marked his 11th bronze in boulder and 64th overall.
In an interview with commentator Alex Honnold via an interpreter, Anraku expressed his excitement and confidence after the win. He shared that figuring out the moves on the final boulder gave him the confidence to successfully top it, despite feeling nervous and stiff during competition.
Later on Saturday evening, home climbers Emma Hunt and Sam Watson will compete in the women’s and men’s speed climbing events respectively. Watson set a new men’s world record last month with a time of 4.79 seconds and will be a strong contender in the event. The women’s boulder competition is scheduled for Sunday (5 May), adding to the excitement of the World Cup event.
Sport climbing has become increasingly popular worldwide, with athletes from all over competing for titles at international events like this one in Salt Lake City.
