Japanese climber Sorato Anraku will be crowned as the 2025 men's bouldering series world champion at the upcoming World Cup round in Innsbruck, Austria, after amassing an unassailable lead in this year's competition.
The 18-year-old won the first three rounds of this year's bouldering competition and came second in the fourth round.
Conversely, the women's competition has been very open. There have been five different winners from five rounds this year, and the series victor is anyone's guess.
The upcoming round also continues the thrilling lead climbing competition. The previous two lead climbing rounds were dominated by Great Britain's Erin McNeice, who featured in an unheard-of tie in the first round and raced to victory in the second.
The men's lead climbing rounds have been won by Anraku and his countryman, Satone Yoshida. Both will be raring to return to the wall and snag a second gold in Innsbruck.
Read on for our preview of the ninth round of this season's climbing World Cup, which includes the schedule, information on how to watch the competition, and who to look out for on the wall.
Ones to watch
Men's bouldering
Japanese prodigy Anraku has been phenomenal in this year's bouldering competition, winning three out of the five previous rounds to cement himself as one of the world's best sport climbers.
His dominant streak has resulted in an insurmountable points tally, which is enough on its own to see him crowned as the 2025 bouldering world champion.
With gold out of the picture, the two climbers who've beaten him on the bouldering wall this year are locked in a tight race for the silver medal.
Mejdi Schalck, 20, built on a promising start to the season with victory in Prague at the beginning of the month. The Frenchman has been in the final of every bouldering competition this year and surged ahead of Anraku with a dominant display in the Czech capital.
Pan Yufei, 25, is also in with a shot, after he struck late to beat Schalck by just 0.1 points in the previous round. The Chinese climber's victory came as something of a surprise to onlookers in Bern, Switzerland.
A second win for either climber would cement a respectable bouldering series silver.
Women's bouldering
This year's women's bouldering competition has been a thrilling affair, with a different winner in each round.
Slovenia's 45-time World Cup gold-medalist Janja Garnbret, and current world champion, Natalia Grossman of the USA, are both missing from this year's competition. The former is taking time off to rest while the latter recovers from long-term knee injuries.
In their absence, France's Naile Meignan and Oriane Bertone, Japan's Nakamura Mao, Great Britain's Erin McNeice, and 17-year-old American Annie Sanders have won a round each.
With five different women's victors, there's little to separate the table heading into the final round of 2025.
Bertone, 20, has enjoyed the most consistent season of anyone in with a shot. She won gold in Prague after narrowly missing out on victory by just 0.1 points in this year's second bouldering event, to French teammate Meignan.
USA's Sanders will also fancy her chances. The teenager displayed real promise with a fourth-place finish in 2024 and has climbed even better this year, securing a deserved victory in the opening round of 2025.
A second win for her, or anyone else in Innsbruck, would secure the coveted bouldering series gold.
Men's lead
We're only two rounds into the 2025 World Cup lead climbing competition, and there's plenty to climb for.
The two previous rounds have been even contests, won by Anraku and his countryman Satone Yoshida.
Not satisfied with dominating just one event, Anraku sped to an assured victory of the opening lead climbing round in Wujaing, China, before Yoshida took home the gold two weeks later in Bali, Indonesia.
The Japanese pair will be challenged by world champion Toby Roberts in Innsbruck. Roberts, 20, enjoyed a meteoric rise last year, snatching gold in the World Cup lead series and the Paris Olympic Games.
Although he's been a little off the pace this season, the British climber will be eager to return to the podium in the upcoming round.
Women's lead
The women's lead competition has so far been dominated by Great Britain's McNeice. The 21-year-old, who's also in with a shot at a bouldering series victory, has two gold medals from two lead climbing rounds this year.
In an extraordinary opening round, she tied with South Korea's Chaehyun Seo, after both recorded the same scores in the final, semi-final, and qualification rounds in Wujiang, China.
McNeice made sure that she'd be the only climber atop the podium in the following round, with a decisive showing in Bali, Indonesia.
Her impressive start to the season comes as something of a surprise to climbing fanatics, as McNeice finished ninth in last year's lead climbing competition with only one medal in the entire competition - bronze in the final round.
Like bouldering, the lead climbing competition has been affected by absences. The missing Natalia Grossman won the 2024 series with over 200 points more than anyone else, and would surely be a contender for gold, were she fighting fit.
IFSC World Cup Schedule
Bouldering qualification
- 12am PT (June 25) / 3am EST (June 25) / 8am BST (June 25) Men's qualification
- 7.30am PT (June 25) / 10.30am EST (June 25) / 3.30pm BST (June 25) Women's qualification
Bouldering finals
- 4am PT (June 26) / 7am EST (June 26) / 12pm BST (June 26) Men's semi-finals
- 10.30am PT (June 26) /1.30pm EST (June 26) / 6.30pm BST (June 26) Men's final
- 4am PT (June 27) / 7am EST (June 27) / 12pm BST (June 27) Women's semi-finals
- 10.30am PT (June 27) /1.30pm EST (June 27) / 6.30pm BST (June 27) Women's final
Lead qualification
- 12am PT (June 28) / 3am EST (June 28) / 8am BST (June 28) All qualification
Lead finals
- 10.40am PT (June 29) / 1.40pm EST (June 29) / 6.40pm BST (June 29) All finals
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 over 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.
How to watch the IFSC World Cup
There are loads of ways to watch the upcoming World Cup competition, with plenty of broadcasters and streaming services providing coverage.
Check out how you can watch where you are with our expert guide.
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