The fourth round for the IFSC Lead World Cup headed to Arco, Italy, where the GB Climbing Team put on another stellar performance. Molly Thompson-Smith stole the show for us, by making the final of the Lead World Cup, and coming third in the Rock Master Duel event, the exciting finale of the festival.

Attracting the most elite athletes in sport climbing, the World Cup in Arco, Italy, runs alongside the Rock Master Festival to create a spectacularly fun and competitive atmosphere. It’s no surprise then that this event is one of the highlights of the competition calendar.

The GB Climbing Team  were out in full force, toughing it out alongside some of the world’s leading superstars. Two of our athletes, Jim Pope and Molly Thompson-Smith, made it through to semi-finals, and Will Bosi just missed out coming in 28th overall.

After a thrilling semi-final, Molly had reached the same high point as some of the world’s best sport climbers, such as Jain Kim of Korea the winner of the World Cup, and qualified for finals in 7th place. Jim came out strong and climbed higher than a number of well-known wads, finishing in a highly respectable 13th place overall.

In the final, Molly looked completely composed but an unfortunate slip ended her performance early, and she finished in 8th place. Of course, we would have loved to see Molly give it her all, but the fact she made finals amongst such a strong field is hugely impressive in itself. Well done Molly, but it turns out that her best was saved for last anyway, in the Rock Master Duel. 

Rock Master Duel 2017

What is the Rock Master Duel, I hear you ask? It's described on the festival website as an 'exclusive competition formula' that was invented for the event and has become the highlight finale of the festival. The best eight athletes of the Lead World Cup are mixed up with two wild card competitors chosen by the organisers and then pitted against each other in a head-to-head sudden-death-battle on identical and parallel routes. Whoever reaches the top first wins.

Despite her slip in the IFSC final, Molly took to the stage with fierce determination and ended up winning the bronze medal. Huge congrats to Molly and the rest of the GB Climbing Team for their sturdy efforts. 

Rob Adie, BMC competitions officer, said: “It was great to see Molly Thompson-Smith make final in an IFSC Lead World Cup – the first GB Climber to do so since Lucy Creamer in 2004. Molly then went on to finish 3rd in the Rockmaster Duel event as well, making it a great weekend for her. Jim Pope made semi-finals and climbed extremely well into 13th position. The future is definitely bright for these two!”

 

Guess I spent a lot of time sat down during the routes at the World Cup this weekend in Arco!😂 I still can't believe I managed to make finals at such a cool event, and although I was disappointed I didn't get to give my all on the final route, I still had so much fun💃🏽 To finish off a great day I even got to compete in the Rockmaster Duel where I came 3rd! Shame my duel skills aren't reflected in my actual speed climbing 😂 📷 @sytsevanslooten

A post shared by Molly Thompson Smith (@mollyts123) on Aug 27, 2017 at 11:43am PDT

Full GB results of the IFSC Lead World Cup, Arco 2017

Women:
7th: Molly Thompson-Smith
33rd: Hannah Slaney
50th: Kitty Morrison
51st: Jen Wood

Men:
13th: Jim Pope
28th: Will Bosi
41st: Dave Barrans

FULL RESULTS: Can be found on the IFSC website

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