In the penultimate round of the IFSC Boulder World Cup series 2017, BMC ambassador Shauna Coxsey climbed in a league of her own to secure the overall title for the second year running. Meanwhile, Jongwon Chon of Korea dominated the men’s tournament to pull ahead of the pack in the overall rankings.
Congratulations go to the UK’s queen of bouldering, Shauna Coxsey, whose emphatic victory in Mumbai, India, at the penultimate round of the 2017 season, proved she’s still number one and achieved her goal of coming back from injury stronger than ever. It was the second event hosted by Mumbai and, despite the monsoon, local psyche was at an all-time high.
Leah Crane, GB Climbing Team member, said: “Even in the middle of monsoon season, the locals came out strong to support climbers from all over the world to come and climb in their city. They pulled out all the stops to put on a remarkable event!”
Going into the event, Shauna knew that she had to place ninth or higher to create an insurmountable lead in the rankings and confirm her overall title for the second consecutive year. But pressure was low as there were two rounds left, she could always make up the points at the final round in August, in Munich, Germany.
All smiles! Excited fans crowd for a photo with the champ. Photo: Leah Crane
Event Report: Qualifiers
Soaring temperatures and high humidity made for some sub-optimal climbing conditions, which were only slightly alleviated by the centre’s air conditioning. Despite this, the GB Climbing Team put on a sterling effort, with all the women – Shauna Coxsey, Michaela Tracy, and Leah Crane – making it through to semi-finals, and Billy Ridal taking three tops to make his first semi-final ever. Unfortunately, Dave Barrans struggled on the last few moves of the last two blocs to place 15th in his group.
Leah said: “Shauna cruised the first four blocs, flashing each one to secure the top spot.”
Semi-finals
Cooler temps and gentler thunderstorms made for more amenable climbing conditions for semis and finals, and competitors escaped the rain to begin drying off and preparing for the day battling blocs.
Billy was first out for the GB Climbing Team, starting well by flashing two bonuses. After a valiant effort on the next two blocs, he finished in 20th place. Next up was Leah and Michaela, who both topped blocs three and four, but a niggle in Michaela’s arm impinged her attempts. Leah, who flashed bloc three, just missed out on finals by one attempt.
Then came Shauna’s turn, where she needed to place ninth to defend her overall IFSC Bouldering World Cup Champion title.
Leah said: “Shauna stamped her seal of dominance by being the only girl to top all four blocs and headed into finals in first place. The overall crown was hers and her mission to come back stronger was completed!”
Finals
With lots of familiar faces heading into finals you could tell it was going to be action-packed. The men’s finals had an especially strong line-up, with each finalist having won at least one Boulder World Cup in their career. Despite Shauna already winning the overall title, she was ready to head out in front of the Mumbai crowd and put on a stellar show.
Leah said: “Shauna did her typical warmup for finals of acro yoga, some light stretches and dynamic blocs, before heading out to compete. It was neck and neck between Shauna and Miho, right down to the last bloc.
“Miho battled non-stop in her four minutes, but couldn’t solve the awkward crux and failed to find the beta. It was then down to Shauna to see if she could save the day. Struggling in a bunched position for three attempts, Shauna finally worked out the movement and made the top with less than five seconds to spare! Just to her right, Jongwon Chon of Korea had also just made the only top of men’s bloc four to take the gold medal, sending the crowd wild.”
Congrats again to all who competed, and especially to BMC ambassador Shauna Coxsey for her incredible second golden year of glory. After a long break, the next round will take place 18-19 August in Munich, Germany, where there’s still all to play for in the men’s tournament.
WATCH: The Finals Highlights of IFSC BWC Mumbai 2017
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Women's results:
Shauna Coxsey (GBR)
Miho Nonaka (JPN)
Akiyo Noguchi (JPN)
Petra Klingler (SUI)
Katja Kadic (SLO)
Aya Onoe (JPN)
Men's results:
Jongwon Chon (KOR)
Rei Sugimoto (JPN)
Aleksei Rubtsov (RUS)
Kokoro Fujii (JPN)
Jakob Schubert (AUT)
Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
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