Japanese climbers dominant at FISU World University Championship

Held at the Innsbruck Climbing Center (Austria), the 2022 FISU World University Championship Sport Climbing was mainly a Japanese story.

Except for the Speed competition, the team from Japan wiped out the concurrence winning 11 of the 12 possible medals in Lead and Boulder. Melina Costanza (USA) was the only athlete to have a say (silver in Lead).

In Speed, however, things turned out differently. The crowd could celebrate its local Tyrolean heroes, as Tobias Plangger beat the American Darren Skolnik in the final and Lukas Knapp finished third.

And the Polish sisters Aleksandra and Natalia Kalucka ended up writing their own fairytale in the women competition.

What they said:

Tobias Plangger (gold medal in Speed, Austria): “I saw that he slipped in the beginning, so I just wanted to finish solidly but I also slipped towards the end, luckily without consequences. A lot of stones fell from my heart after the final. The inner pressure was very big and has become more and more from run to run. You try to play it down, but in front of a home crowd at a world championship you just want to deliver. I will need time to realize what happened.”

Aleksandra Kalucka (gold medal in Speed, Poland): “The gold medal makes me very proud. The fact that I get to experience this moment with my sister, who came in third, makes it even a bit more special and emotional for me.”

Nonoha Kume (gold medal in Lead, Japan): “I was the first athlete to enter the final and after my performance I would not have believed that it would be enough for a medal – certainly not for gold.”

Melina Costanza (silver medal in Lead, USA): “It was incredible fun and a real challenge at the end. I am very happy that I could get the silver medal in this strong field of participants.  It was a great day for me.”

Hidemasa Nishida (gold medal in Lead, Japan) “We pushed ourselves as a team and put in a really good performance. I knew I was in good shape, but I never imagined it would be enough for the win.”

All the results at a glance:

WOMEN

Speed: 1. Aleksandra Kalucka (POL) ; 2. Giulia Randi (ITA) ; 3. Natalia Kalucka (POL)

Lead: 1. Nonoha Kume (JPN) ; 2. Melina Costanza (USA) ; 3. Ryu Nakagawa (JPN)

Boulder: 1. Ryu Nakagawa (JPN) ; 2. Mao Nakamura (JPN) ; 3. Mia Aoyagi (JPN)

MEN

Speed: 1. Tobias Plangger (AUT) ; 2.  Darren Skolnik (USA) ; 3. Lukas Knapp (AUT)

Lead: 1. Hidemasa Nishida (JPN) ; 2. Taisei Homma (JPN) ; 3. Sohta Amagasa (JPN)

Boulder : 1. Ryo Omasa (JPN) ; 2. Kento Yamaguchi (JPN) ; 3. Sohta Amagasa (JPN)