After 6 World Cups so far this year, we return to Europe to Prague, Czechia, for Adam Ondra's last Boulder World Cup.
Despite not focusing on Boulder World Cups, Ondra has only competed in 23 over the last 16 years. He has won 15 World Cup medals, including 6 gold World Cup medals.
He also won the Boulder World Cup series in 2010, his second year on the circuit, becoming the first man to win both the Lead and Boulder World Cup series. This feat wasn't repeated until Sorato Anraku won both in 2023.
In 2014, he won the Boulder World Championship in Munich, Germany. Ondra is the only man to win both Lead and Boulder World Championships in the same year.
One of his most memorable wins was in Meiringen 2019. The last boulder of the final was a hand jam boulder. All the other athletes struggled with the crack. None of the Japanese athletes, including Tomoa Narasaki, Rei Sugimoto, or Kokoro Fuji got the zone. Ondra came out last and flashed the boulder (which he later claimed was “easy”).
Ondra is one of climbing's stars. He will be missed.
Who to watch out for
While the focus will be on Ondra at the competition, there are many others to look out for. Dohyun Lee is competing, and he has never lost a World Cup in Prague.
The Japanese team has changed their athletes after the first half of the season to give others a chance to compete. Futaba Ito, Mashiro Kuzuu, Meichi Narasaki, Rei Sugimoto, and Fuji Fujiwaki all won't be competing in the second half of the Boulder season.
Instead, Ai Mori, Kaho Murakoshi, Daiki Sano, Kento Yamaguchi, and Yusuke Sugimoto will be competing. Sorato Anraku, Sohta Amagasa, and Tomoa Narasaki all continue to compete. As do Mao Nakamura, Melody Sekikawa, Miho Nonaka, and Anon Matsufuji.
There is a strong team from Great Britain. Toby Roberts returns to compete after struggling, by his high standards, at the Chinese World Cups. Max Milne, Hamish McArthur, and Dayan Akhtar join him. Erin McNeice also returns after winning medals at the Asian World Cups and skipping the American leg of the circuit.
The men's French team has a few changes after the last two Boulder World Cups. Paul Jenft and Sam Avezou are both not competing in Prague. Mejdi Schalck, Adrien Lemaire, and Thomas Lemanger continue to compete. They are joined by Max Bertone, Antoine Girard, and Samuel Richard in Prague.
The French team sends a women's team of six athletes for the first time this year to a Boulder World Cup. Oriane Bertone, Naïlé Meignan and Agathe Calliet are joined by Lily Abriat, Selma Elhadj Mimoune, and Lucile Saurel. A French woman has won a medal at every Prague World Cup so far: Bertone and Flavy Cohaut in 2023 and Meignan in 2024.
Meignan and Bertone are both competing in Prague © Dimitris Tosidis & Jan Virt / IFSC
The USA team also sends a strong team, with World Cup winners Annie Sanders and finalist Nekaia Sanders and Kyra Condie. They are joined by Helen Gillet and Cloe Coscoy, who have both been 1 place outside of the finals spots in semi-finals. Adrienne Akiko Clark completes the team.
If Sorato Anraku wins in Prague, he will be the first man to win four World Cups in a row. He will also match Kilian Fischhuber's record of winning four World Cups in a season. He already holds the highest percentage of World Cups won by a man in a season. He is the man to beat at the moment.
Who could win?
On the women's side, with Natalia Grossman and Janja Garnbret absent, it could be anyone's competition. Naïlé Meignan came close to winning last year behind Grossman, and Oriane Bertone beat Janja Garnbret in 2023. Oceania Mackenzie won her first medal last year in Prague. Also, watch out for Salt Lake City gold medalist Mao Nakamura and other 2025 medalists Camilla Moroni and Erin McNeice.
Melody Sekikawa on the Japanese team has performed well in the qualification and semi-final rounds, placing in the top 3 of the 6 rounds 4 times. However, she has yet to carry her form through to the final rounds and win a medal; her highest place was 5th in Curitiba. Will Prague be the one?
Routesetters
- Headsetter: Manuel Hassler (Switzerland)
- Pierre Broyer (France)
- Mauro Schwaszta (Argentina)
Schedule
All times are local time (UTC+2).
Friday 6th June
- 09:00 Men’s Boulder Qualification
- 16:00 Women’s Boulder Qualification
Saturday 7th June
- 12:00 - Men’s Semi-final
- 18:30 - Men’s Final
Sunday 8th June
- 12:00 - Women’s Semi-final
- 18:30 - Women’s Final
Where to Watch
Watch in the UK and Europe on Eurosport, Discovery+ and Max. The finals are hosted by TV Azteca in Mexico and Globo in Brazil. Elsewhere, you can watch on the IFSC YouTube Channel. You can still watch the semi-finals on the IFSC YouTube channel in Mexico and Brazil.
