Japan's Sorato Anraku is eying a historic fourth consecutive bouldering victory as an even women's competition gets going in the upcoming round of the IFSC Climbing World Cup.
We're multiple rounds into the 2025/26 climbing World Cup season, and the competition is beginning to take shape, with a clear front-runner in men's bouldering and a close split across the women's events.
After rain impacted the speed climbing World Cup in Denver last week, the world's best climbers return to Europe for three intense days in Prague, Czechia.
Read on for our preview of the fourth bouldering 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
This year's men's bouldering competition has been dominated by Japanese prodigy Sorato Anraku. Three rounds in, the 18-year-old is the only male climber to have stood atop the bouldering podium, thanks to a series of decisive climbs.
He was at his unstoppable best at the previous bouldering event, battling through a tough qualification round before rising above the pack with an aggressive climb in the final.
Victory in Prague would see Anraku make history as the first athlete to win four World Cup competitions in a row.
"I want to win a fourth medal, but I don’t want to think about it," he told the IFSC after his last win.
"I just want to think about one competition at a time and try to win in Prague."
The only climber to have really troubled him so far this season is South Korea's Dohyun Lee. The speedy 22-year-old came third in the previous round and finished just 0.4 points behind Anraku in the season's first bouldering competition.
The pair will come head-to-head when qualification begins on June 6.
The women's bouldering competition looks a little different this year due to the absence of two of the world's best all-around climbers.
Slovenia's Janja Garnbret has won a whopping 45 World Cup gold medals, but will miss most of this season as she takes time to rest, while world champion Natalia Grossman is recovering from long-term knee injuries.
Without them, the women's bouldering competition has become an open affair, with a different winner in every competition.
The previous bouldering competition was won, for the first time, by Japan's Nakamura Mao. The 25-year-old had finished fourth in three separate bouldering competitions but climbed flawlessly to snag gold in Salt Lake City.
American Annie Sanders and Naile Meignan of France won the previous two competitions and will be eager to reclaim their place atop the podium in Prague.
At just 17, Sanders has a big future ahead of her and showed real promise with a fourth-place finish in the 2024/25 competition. Her gold-medal-winning climb in the season opener showed skills well above her years and marked her as one to watch throughout the season.
Meignan, 21, won her first bouldering World Cup competition in this year's second round in Brazil thanks to an aggressive and precise climb. She'll be keen to repeat the feat in the upcoming competition.
IFSC World Cup Schedule
Qualification
- 12am PT (June 6) / 3am EST (June 6) / 8am BST (June 6) Women's qualification
- 7am PT (June 6) / 10am EST (May 23) / 3pm BST (June 6) Men's qualification
Semi-finals and finals
- 3am PT (June 8) / 6am EST (June 8) / 11am BST (June 8) Women's semi-finals
- 9.30am PT (June 8) /12.30pm EST (June 8) / 5.30pm BST (June 8)Women's final
- 3am PT (June 7) / 6am EST (June 7) / 11am BST (June 7) Men's semi-finals
- 9.30am PT (June 7) / 12.30pm EST (June 7) / 5.30pm BST (June 7) Men's final
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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