The fifth edition of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2022 drew to a close this evening in Brixen, Italy. Germany’s Yannick Flohé was crowned champion in the men’s Boulder final, leaving Team Germany overjoyed after also seeing silver-medal-success from team member Hannah Meul in the women’s event yesterday.
Despite being the reigning Combined World Champion and having also taken home a bronze medal in Boulder at the IFSC Climbing World Championships Hachioji 2019, Flohé has never stood atop an IFSC World Cup podium – until tonight. Taking first place in this evening’s final with two tops and four zones, Flohé secured the first IFSC World Cup medal of his career, and a gold one at that.
When asked how long he has worked for this moment, Flohé said: “I don’t know, maybe my whole life! Since I started climbing I guess, but I never thought that I would make it on top of the podium someday. This year has been a good year so far. I was already quite strong last year but somehow my head didn’t work that well, so I’m super happy that it worked out today.”
In second place was another newcomer to the IFSC World Cup podium – Great Britain’s Maximillian Milne. The Brit achieved two tops and three zones and thus, achieved a silver medal in Brixen. Moreover, Milne accomplished the only flash of the night, completing the first bloc of the final in only one attempt.
Completing the men’s podium was Tokyo 2020 Olympian Narasaki Tomoa, of Japan, who took bronze with one top and four zones. No stranger to the podium, Narasaki now holds a total of 26 IFSC World Cup medals, and a further six IFSC Climbing World Championship medals.
In fourth place was Lee Dohyun of South Korea, achieving one top and four zones in his first ever World Cup final. Japan’s Ogata Yoshiyuki placed fifth with another score of one top and four zones, ranking lower than Narasaki and Lee due to using a higher number of attempts during the competition. In sixth place was Narasaki Meichi of Japan – the younger brother of Narasaki Tomoa – with a score of one top and three zones.
Credit: IFSC
