She came, saw and conquered again in the cathedral city: Natalia Grossman won the Boulder World Cup in Bressanone on Saturday evening in style. Chaehyun Seo from South Korea and Stasa Gejo from Serbia completed the podium in front of a full audience. On Sunday, the big South Tyrolean sports festival dedicated to climbing will come to an end with the men’s semi-final (11:00) and final (20:00).
It was a calm victory, the ninth in total in the World Cup, which Natalie Grossman wrapped up in her 51st World Cup appearance in front of more than 2,000 enthusiastic spectators in the Vertikale. The 21-year-old climber from Boulder in Colorado was the only finalist to manage all four tops, and the two-time overall World Cup winner in bouldering (2021, 2022) also managed to flash twice. Two months before the World Climbing Championships in Bern, the defending champion is already in top form.
Closest to Grossman came Chaeyun Seo from South Korea. The 19-year-old from Seoul did not succeed on the first boulder, where she needed six attempts for the zone. After that, however, the Lead World Champion and Olympic 8th remained flawless and managed three flashes en suite, which eventually meant second place and her first podium in the Boulder World Cup. Third place went to Stasa Gejo from Serbia, who also had three tops (two flashes) and four zones, but two more attempts than Seo. This was Gejo’s fourth top-3 finish in the World Cup. Ayala Kerem from Israel, on the other hand, will have to wait for her first World Cup podium. She finished fourth, just like Seo and Gejo, with three tops and four zones, but needed five more attempts than Gejo.
Mackenzie with best World Cup result, Färber never before as strong as this year
Australian Oceania Mackenzie solved two boulder problems and reached the zone three times – making fifth place for the 20-year-old from Warrandyte (a suburb of Melbourne), who thus achieved her best result in the Boulder World Cup. A top and two zones were the result for Austria’s Johanna Färber in the high-class final. The 25-year-old from Kumberg (Styria) finished sixth – her best result of the season in the 2023 World Cup.
The second edition of the Boulder World Cup in Bressanone will conclude on Sunday. At 11:00 the men’s semi-final will take place, which will be contested by 20 athletes. In the evening, the final with the best six boulderers of the semi-final will start at 20:00, before the World Cup troop leaves Bressanone for Innsbruck.
Results finals Boulder World Cup Bressanone, women:
1. Natalia Grossman (USA) 4T4z 12 12
2. Chaehyun Seo (KOR) 3T4z 3 9
3. Stasa Gejo (SRB) 3T4z 5 6
4. Ayala Kerem (ISR) 3T4z 10 16
5. Oceania Mackenzie (AUS) 2T3z 5 6
6. Johanna Färber (AUT) 1T2z 4 14
