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The recent bouldering round of the IFSC climbing World Cup came to an early conclusion over the weekend, after strong winds forced climbers off the wall before the women's final in Prague, Czechia.
France's Oriane Bertone was awarded the gold for a precise and technical climb in the semi-finals, after her compatriot Mejdi Schalck snagged a surprise victory in the men's competition.
Both climbers won their first golds of the 2025/26 bouldering season, which is heating up with each round. Read on for our rundown of all the action from Prague.
Not sure how it works? Jump to the bottom of this article for a handy IFSC World Cup explainer.
Women's competition
Oriane Bertone, 20, put in a strong showing in Prague to claim her first IFSC gold of the season, and the second of her young climbing career.
The French athlete topped the leaderboard with a strong showing in qualification and some precise bouldering in the semis before event organizers cancelled the final round due to dangerous weather conditions.
The IFSC said they took the tricky decision to cancel the event final due to "windy weather conditions and the inability to ensure the safety of the athletes and spectators".
Compatriot Agathe Calliet won her first-ever IFSC medal with a strong silver, and Japan's Sekikawa Melody joined the pair in third.
Despite the absence of a final, Bertone will feel deserving of a medal after a consistent start to the 2025/26 bouldering season.
Last month, she lost out on gold to French teammate Naile Meignan by just 0.1 points. Bertone scored 99.5 points to Meignan's 99.6 in a near-perfect final round in Curitiba, Brazil.
Men's competition
There were plenty of eyes on the men's competition over the weekend, as Japanese prodigy Sorato Anraku attempted to make history and win a record fourth bouldering World Cup event in a row.
The 18-year-old has made a stunning start to the 2025/26 World Cup season with back-to-back-to-back bouldering victories. But he was unable to snag a fourth thanks to a thrilling 'comeback' gold from France's Mejdi Schalck.
Schalck, 20, has been in every bouldering final this season and fell just short of gold last month with a second-placed finish in Curitiba, Brazil.
After a consistent qualifying round, he surged to pole position with an eye-opening score of 99.1 in the final, 15 points more than second-placed Anraku.
Afterwards, an ecstatic Schalck told the IFSC: “It feels a bit like a comeback because last year I had a pretty hard year. I didn’t qualify for the Olympics, so I stayed focused and trained really hard this winter, so it’s a comeback. I’m back, and it feels good to be back.”
Although he failed to win gold, Anraku remains firmly atop the bouldering table and has his sights set on victory at the next round, in Bern, Switzerland.
He told the IFSC: "Two years ago here I was seventh, last year I was fourth, and now second, so next year, first.”
“Honestly, I’m not disappointed with the result. The final had a lot of coordination. I’m not bad at it, but I’m not great either."
Schalck and Anraku were joined on the podium by 17-year-old Samuel Richard, who competed in his first-ever World Cup final.
Earlier this month, the latest speed climbing round of the World Cup was also called to a halt abruptly due to stormy weather.
What is the IFSC World Cup?
The IFSC World Cup is a year-long climbing competition that pits the world's best climbers head-to-head in lead climbing, speed climbing, and bouldering competitions.
It takes place across 14 different World Cup stages, held across the globe and throughout the year.
Points from each competition are tallied up, and climbers are ranked on separate leaderboards for each discipline. These rankings decide the eventual world champions.
What's next?
The world's best boulderers will return to the wall in under a week for the next round of the IFSC World Cup in Bern, Switzerland.
The fifth bouldering round of the 2025/26 competition will take place over three days in the Swiss capital.
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