Japan locks out the men's Boulder podium ¦ Innsbruck 2024

The men's semi-finals and a baking hot day. There were some new faces and for the second time in IFSC history, Thailand had an athlete move into the semis and he was just out of the finals in 7th. Japan's Sota Amagase took the last spot. He had to fight though after failing to climb the first easier boulder, the slab at the end saving him. 5th was Sota's teammate Ritsuke Otani who did climb boulder 1. He got the awkward last move on his second go. Elias Kruger from Germany was 4th. Again, boulder 1 proved important and his coaches knew it, celebrating with their athlete. He also got zones in the other 3 to secure him a finals place. Japan's Meichi Narasaki is in 3rd. He was impressive on that last climb, getting it in just 4 goes. Toby Roberts is 2nd. The GB athlete also getting the slab in 4 goes. It's clear his Olympic prep and build-up is going well as he has an eye on Paris. Finally, Japan's Serato Anraku was simply better than the rest and he did that slab too. He was the only athlete to climb the super hard boulder 3 with the last move that confused everyone else. So we go into tonight's final, the Serato on top. The question being, can anyone beat him? We're now a couple of minutes away from finals and in a second we're going to go and talk to a route setter. But before we get into that, in certain venues certain athletes are heroes and Jakob Schubert in Innsbruck is one of those. So we caught up with him for a chat about the men's qualifying rounds and his thoughts on the upcoming Olympics. I've managed to find one of the men who's most in demand during the Innsbruck competition because this is your home stadium but also it's one of the places you seem most comfortable. We're in Innsbruck again, so tell me, you live here, you train here, it must be great returning every year to compete. Yeah of course, having a World Cup at home is always really special and it's just really chill sleeping at your own apartment while being at the World Cup, not being in a hotel or having to go to restaurants. You're just in your familiar place, you have all your friends, family in the public, in a crowd and you warm up on walls where you climb every day. Obviously that feeling is great and it also increases the pressure because this is a place where you really want to perform. Is it a bit bizarre, because I went to the toilet earlier on and you walked down the steps and there's your face on a giant poster. That would kind of freak me out. Do you ever catch yourself thinking this is madness? I think I'm too familiar with this place. It's fine and I'm really used to it, so no, it's all good. That's good, that's good to know. Now let's chat about Olympics briefly, because it's coming up in like four and a bit weeks now or something, really soon. Obviously you've been on that stage before, you know how to maybe deal with the pressure but it's going to be a bigger crowd this time, even more eyes on it as the sport grows. How are you feeling in this build-up phase? Well so far I feel really good. Usually I would say I'm this kind of person that doesn't really get too nervous except then when we're really like maybe one hour or a few minutes before going out to the boulder, to the route. This is where I get really nervous, but like now a few weeks before I still feel pretty chill. And yeah, I think like you said, I have the advantage that I've been on the stage already. I've been in this big pressure situation because even last time I felt like I was one of the favorites. A lot of people expected me to make a medal, so it was already a very difficult situation and I feel like it's similar this year and it might be a bit better because there is no speed climbing for me. Your personality is lovely sometimes, because I remember in the World Champs when you were like encouraging Serato. You know, you're more of a veteran climber, you have the experience, you seem to help the younger ones on. Are you going to be doing that during the Olympics or is it just, you know what, they're my rival, that's it, they're gone? Or will you be giving them a helping hand? No, of course. I mean, that's how our community works, I think, and that's how we as climbers are, right? I mean, we observe routes together, we observe boulders together. And in my mindset, it's like if we all have like the same beta and everything and we help each other out, then it just comes down to who is the strongest. And I like the thought of it and I hope that I will be one of the strongest. Fingers crossed for that, man. Now, yesterday was a boulder qualification in a very weird round. We started off in a baking sun, it poured with rain, we had a big delay. And when the other athletes came on, it was colder perhaps. But the round was pretty easy, wasn't it? Like lots of flashes, lots of tops, it made it challenging to get through. Yeah, definitely. I mean, in rounds like this, it's always way more difficult to make it through. I would say as like one of the top athletes, obviously, the easier the boulders are, the more people are that can top those boulders. And then it's all about not really like showing your strength, but all about thinking of not making any mistakes. It's a completely different mindset. It's not one that I think is as enjoyable for most athletes. I mean, you train really hard and you want to show how strong you are. And then you have boulders where it's not really about showing your strength, but more about just not messing up and doing them as quickly as possible. And yeah, those rounds can be pretty stressful. I was one of the first starters, I was second out. So I didn't really, I didn't feel like I was in this situation yet because I didn't know the round's going to be that easy. And actually I felt pretty safe with my four tops and eight tries, and I thought it should be fine. But yeah, it all came down to the last slab and I didn't climb well in that boulder and I had to do it to make it to semis, which is kind of heartbreaking now I have to say. I haven't been this disappointed in a bouldering round for a long time. Yeah, it surprised a few people. We had to rewrite all our scripts because we thought you were in and as the evening developed, we realized you weren't. So yeah, shocking for everyone. But lead coming, of course. I presume you're going to be climbing up on that massive wall very soon. Yeah, I hope so. I mean, after the Salt Lake World Cup, I really started my lead training and I feel like I'm on a really good way of getting in my best shape before the Olympics. So this is also the first lead World Cup of the season. It's the most interesting one, I would say, because this is where no one really knows where they stand and you really want to see how your shape is compared to all the other top climbers, which are almost all of them are here. And yeah, I can't wait to measure myself with all the other top athletes on this wall. Awesome. Well, I know you're a busy man. I'll let you go. Thank you for spending the time with me. Best of luck for lead and, of course, the Olympics. Fingers crossed, Jakob. Thank you very much. Now, before every round of any competition, I always speak to route setters to find out what you guys plan for the athletes and how they're meant to climb the boulders. This is Max, one of the IFSC route setters, and you're going to talk me through this yellow and blue thing. Not particularly overhanging in the middle here, but still a powerful boulder, right? Yeah, so this was our three boulder of the round, so we're trying to just do something different and new. So we'll see what happens, but hopefully it'll be quite exciting. All right, well, let us into the secrets then. What is secret and new about this boulder? So, I mean, we always try and do it, but on this boulder, we're trying to make them face out at the start. We'll see how that goes. It doesn't always go that way. You know my feelings on this. Whenever you guys say that, the athletes always go the other way, but I'll believe you. They always do, but we'll see. We've tried, and it's more exciting if they do, and they'll have more fun if they do. So that's the important thing. They're missing out if they don't do it facing out. Okay, so facing out, hands either side, like pressing up in. Yeah, you press up into the groove, and then it's all a bit weird, and you have to reach over your head, and you get your handle wrong, and then you explode out of that position up to the big pocket, spinning around and getting the zone. Okay, so if an athlete does decide to face the other way, is the boulder still possible? Have you built different methods into it? Yeah, it's definitely still possible. Just a bit different how you set up for the jump, but you can still do it that way. So, hang on. They're facing out. There's the yellow one. Are they reaching behind them with the left hand? They're left hand to the yellow one, and then swinging around and coming right hand up to the zone, hopefully. And the top itself, there's a yellow jib up there. Is it any good, or is it just a smooth one? It is pretty good, but the last move is quite hard. You get your hand on the jib on top of the zone, and you do a power mantle up into a pressed position, and then you have to go quickly into the top to get your foot up and match. Okay, so when you said you're trying something unique and a bit different, it's that face-out thing that you're trying to just nail here in Innsbruck? Yeah, and the top move is quite cool as well. Just something a bit weird, like a fast mantle into a steep wall where you're all a bit uncomfortable, and you've just got to explode into that finish hold. So, what's the moment like? You're watching the finals. The men face into the wall, or hopefully face out of the wall. Does your heart sink when they're doing it wrong and they might mess it up? What's your feelings as a setter? Personally, I think if they're doing the boulder, then they're going to do something cool. Whatever they do is going to be exciting to watch. The only thing that might be not exciting is if they can't get anywhere, but hopefully that won't happen. They're all pretty good. Yeah, they're all right, this lot. So, fingers crossed. We've got three other boulders, of course, but we're going to leave that as a surprise for you guys. Let's see how this blue and yellow thing gets on, because we're going to jump into the men's highlights. The last six athletes faced an enormous crowd, who were in a boisterous mood as the evening light settled on the stadium. Boulder 1 had a big final move, with potential for barn door swings. Japan's Ritsu Keitani almost got it, but not quite. The other athletes found things a little easier, with Sota Amagasa the first climber out and sending it second go. His teammate, Meichi Narasaki, got it in three attempts, while Toby Roberts equalled Meichi's attempts to the top. Serato and Raku, however, went one better, launching his way through for a flash. Boulder 2 proved to be the hardest of the set, and the first sequence shut everyone down. It was a move to a block crimp that caused problems, but the second sequence was also tricky, and no one could even get to the zone. In a screw hole there. Yeah, I think the climber are very good for that. The point is amazing. Yes, that worked all well. Boulder 3 was a pretty straightforward slab. Ritsu Keitani tickled the final hold, but couldn't make the match. Ilyes Kruger also only got to the zone, but Sota Amagasa sent the problem in just two tries. Meichi did it in three, while Serato impressively, once again, flashed the climb. Would not necessarily be giving it 100% here. Yeah, and it's very close now from the day. It's not like you have a lot of time to recover if you're injured. The problem is, is athletes tend to be fairly competitive, and self-preservation won't be one of those things that comes into their mind. Yeah, I think that's when the coaches are very important, and say like, no, you're not going to compete, or like, think twice, what are you doing? Yes. But also climbers are very stubborn. Yeah. I know a few of them. Yeah. Stubborn competitive climbers, for sure. Here comes Tobi. Oh, this is his flash. Go, he's a flash. There you go, easily. Wow, massive for Tobi. So it all came down to Boulder 4, and as we know by now from the setters, it was a spectacular one. Ritsu couldn't get onto the podium by this stage, but he still fought hard, getting the zone in 10 attempts, touching the last holds, but settling for 6th place. Elias left nothing behind. Full energy and commitment from him, and he was quicker to the zone in just 4 goes. He ended up 5th. In 4th was Tobi. He had the opportunity to potentially win if he had finished it, but he struggled with the moves into the zone, and received no score. Serato might also have won. The Japanese athlete trying everything on the final press move, from mantles to muscle-ups, but no top. A bronze medal for Serato. Meichi Narasaki took silver, screaming his way through the final move, shoulders just about holding on, clearly at 100% effort in front of the appreciative crowd. So Sota Amagasa takes victory, with a top in just 4 goes. His first ever gold, and a great climb from the boulder specialist. So with that, the boulder competition comes to an end, and we refocus our attention onto lead. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, so make sure you subscribe to join us for all the action.