Curitiba (pronounced koo-ree-CHEE-bah) hosts the first World Cup in South America this weekend.
Half of the continent will be represented at the event.
Six of the 12 countries that make up South America have registered athletes for the event. These are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Curitiba will be the first World Cup where athletes from Bolivia will compete.
28 athletes from South America are registered. That's almost as many as last year's total in all disciplines and competitions.
Growth of South American athletes
Diego Tapia from Chile was the first South American athlete to compete on the World Cup circuit. Since then, 164 South American athletes have competed in a World Cup.
South American athletes grew in number in the 2000s. This rise was due to Venezuelan climbers who found great success in Speed World Cups, winning many medals. It wasn't until 2017 that more than 20 South American athletes were competing on the World Cup circuit in a season.
Since 2017, athletes from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Ecuador have taken part in the World Cup circuit. Thirty-nine athletes from South America competed on the World Cup circuit in 2023.
The Best Athletes from South America
From 2003 to 2013, Venezuelan climbers were among the best on the circuit in speed climbing.
Manuel Escobar won two Speed World Cups, the first in Moscow in 2006 and in Puurs in 2007. He also finished 2nd in the World Championship in Avilés, Spain, in 2007.
Escobar wasn't the only World Cup winner. Leonel de las Salas, Lucelia Blanco, and Rosmery da Silva also won Speed World Cups in the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Boulder and Lead have a different story.
The highest finishing South American athlete in Boulder is Benjamin Vargas from Chile. Vargas finished 19th at the Salt Lake City World Cup last year.
Valentina Aguado from Argentina holds the record for the highest finish by a South American woman in Boulder. She finished 21st at the 2019 Chongqing World Cup, just missing the semi-final.
Tomas Ravanal from Chile and Reinaldo Camacho from Venezuela share the record for the highest finish by a South American man in Lead. Ravanal finished 14th at the Imst World Cup in 2016, and Camacho finished 14th at the Briançon World Cup in 2013.
Janine Cardoso from Brazil holds the record for the best finish by a South American woman at a Lead World Cup. She came 16th at the Marbella World Cup in 2006. Cardoso was the first woman from Brazil to compete at a World Cup back in 1999. She is also the event director for the Curitiba World Cup.
Aguado has been the top competitor in Lead across men and women in recent times. She finished 24th at the Lead World Cup in Chamonix in 2019. Felipe Ho Foganholo holds the highest finish by a South American man since 2017 at a Lead World Cup. He finished 36th at the Koper World Cup in 2024.
South American Cups
Starting in 2023, the IFSC Pan America have started running South American Cups.
The first was a Boulder Cup held in Curitiba, Brazil, in 2023. The second Boulder cup was held in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Rodrigo Hanada and Anja Köhler from Brazil won both. 28 men and 28 women competed in Curitiba and 31 men and 32 women competed in Mar del Plata.
The series grew in 2024 to three events with all three disciplines represented. The competitions were held in
- Ibarra, Ecuador,
- Mar del Plata, Argentina, and
- Curitiba, Brazil.
All three disciplines were competed in Ibarra and Curitiba. Mar del Plata was only a Boulder Cup.
Table: South American Boulder Cup results
| Boulder Competition | Sex | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curitiba 2023 | Men | Rodrigo Iasi Hanada | Felipe Ho Foganholo | Samuel Carlos Da Silva |
| Curitiba 2023 | Women | Anja Köhler | Valentina Aguado | Laura Farhat De Araujo Fraga Timo |
| Mar del Plata 2023 | Men | Rodrigo Iasi Hanada | Felipe Ho Foganholo | Tomas Chicaiza Davila |
| Mar del Plata 2023 | Women | Anja Köhler | Valentina Aguado | Zoe Garcia Molina |
| Ibarra 2024 | Men | Joaquin Urrutia | Diego Lequerica Buscaglia | Tomas Chicaiza Davila |
| Ibarra 2024 | Women | Alejandra Contreras | Valentina Aguado | Matilde Cabezas |
| Mar del Plata 2024 | Men | Joaquin Urrutia | Rodrigo Iasi Hanada | Christian Wagner |
| Mar del Plata 2024 | Women | Marian Kiara Luna Micheri | Valentina Aguado | Mariana Hanggi Correia |
| Curitiba 2024 | Men | Benjamin Vargas | Joaquin Urrutia | Rodrigo Iasi Hanada |
| Curitiba 2024 | Women | Lianet Castillo | Valentina Aguado | Alejandra Contreras |
Aguado won the women's Boulder Cup series in 2024, finishing second in every competition. Alejandra Contreras from Chile came second. She won in Ibarra and finished third in Curitiba. Matilde Cabezas from Chile was third.
Joaquin Urrutia from Chile won the men's Boulder Cup series in 2024. He took first place in the first two competitions and finished second in Curitiba. Diego Lequerica Buscaglia from Peru finished second and Alejo Suter from Argentina third. Vargas won the third competition but finished ninth in the series, having only competed in the final event.
Both Valentina Aguado and Marian Kiara Luna Micheri from Argentina are registered for the Curitiba World Cup. So is Anja Köhler as part of the 12-athlete Brazilian team. Urrutia and Vargas are both registered for Chile. So are Hanada and Foganholo for Brazil.
However, South American Cup winners Alejandra Contreras and Lianet Castillo are not registered. In fact, no Venezuelan athlete is registered for the World Cup.
The Curitiba World Cup will be a celebration of climbing in South America. It shows how the sport is growing and becoming more professional in the continent. It also includes a cup system for the continent.
The 28 athletes represent over 385 million people. Now they have a "local" World Cup.
Curitiba World Cup Preview
While the World Cup will celebrate South America, many of the best athletes from Keqiao are taking a break from the circuit.
Keqiao finalists Erin McNeice, Miho Nonaka, Chaehyun Seo, Annie Sanders, and Oceania Mackenzie are all missing. So are Dohyun Lee and Oren Prihed from the men's final.
The competition looks like it will become a contest between the French and Japanese teams.
The French team have 10 athletes registered. Both Zélia Avezou and Naïle Meignan are set to compete at their first World Cup in 2025. Oriane Bertone is also registered. She is in a great spot to take the lead in the Series.
Mejdi Schalck, Sam Avezou, Paul Jenft, and 2025 France national champion Adrien Lemaire are all registered. So is the 2025 Munich Europe Cup winner Thomas Lemagner for his fifth World Cup.
The Japanese team also have a full set of 12 athletes registered. Melody Sekikawa, who reached her first World Cup final in Keqiao, is registered. She will compete alongside Futaba Ito, Mao Nakamura, Anon Matsufuji, and Mashiro Kuzuu. Yui Suezawa will compete in her first World Cup in Curitiba.
Sorato Anraku is joined by Tomoa and Meichi Narasaki, Sohta Amagasa, Rei Sugimoto, and Yuji Fujiwaki. Anraku and Meichi Narasaki won medals in Keqiao.
It would not be surprising if both finals ended up being made up purely of French and Japanese athletes.
With Lee absent, Anraku is favourite to win the men's competition. For the women, Oriane Bertone is the favourite. Naïle Meignan and Zélia Avezou will likely challenge her though in their first World Cup of the season.
Routesetters
- Remi Samyn (France) Headsetter
- Mauro Schwaszta (Argentina)
- Anna Borella (Italy)
Schedule
All times are in local time (UTC-3)
Friday, 16th May
- Qualifications 09:00 – 15:00
Saturday, 17th May
- Men’s Semi-finals 10:00-12:30
- Men’s Final 17:00
Sunday, 18th May
- Women’s Semi-finals 10:00–12:30
- Women’s Final 17:00
