Next week, the 2025 World Championship in Seoul, South Korea, starts.
In a year where many athletes have skipped competitions to recover from the stress of last year's Olympic events, we finally have a competition featuring nearly all of the best athletes.
I am in Seoul to cover the World Championship in person, and I want to do something a little bit different.
Before I discovered my love of climbing, I was into cycling. Many cycling podcasts release daily episodes during the Tour de France, where they cover the main stories of each day. Inspired by this, I thought it would be fun to create a short episode each day during the world championship. I'll reflect on the day's action, include chats with athletes, routesetters, and officials I bump into, and look forward to what is to come on the next day.
I plan to release two preview episodes tomorrow:
- One focused on Para Climbing with Sebastian Depeke, Anita Aggarwal, and Eva Mol.
- One focused on Lead, Speed and Boulder with Natalie Berry and Tyler Norton, who ran Plastic Weekly.
You can subscribe on your platform of choice to be ready for these episodes.
Para Climbing
In Para Climbing, athletes are classified into 10 classes across three main categories: visual impairment, amputee, and limited range, power, and/or mobility. The higher the number, the greater the functionality and the lower the impairment.
- Visually impaired – B1, B2, B3: These are classified by how much visual field the athlete hashave. B1 athletes are totally blind and climb with a blindfold. B2 athletes have a visual field of less than 10%, and B3 athletes have a visual field between 10% and 40%. Blind climbers have a sight guide to announce holds and moves.
- Upper and Lower Amputees – AL1, AL2, AU2, AU3: These athletes are classified based on the severity of the limb deficiency. For AL1, athletes have no usable function from the waist down. AL2 athletes have at least one leg amputation or limb deficiency. AU2 athletes have at least one arm with a forearm or limb deficiency. AU3 athletes have finer impairments, but functioning wrists. There is no AU1 category as of 2023. These athletes now compete in the RP1 category.
- Range and Power RP – RP1, RP2, RP3: RP athletes have the largest range of impairments. These could include hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, impaired passive range of motion, impaired muscle power, or short stature. The severity of the impairment can change over time, resulting in athletes moving between classes.
In Seoul, there are 206 athletes - 122 men and 84 women, competing across 19 classes. This is the largest number of athletes represented at a World Championship for Para Climbing.
The AL1 class will be a mixed class with 14 athletes. This is because due to not having enough women (what type?) registered to compete in the World Championship.
The classes with the highest number of participants are AL2, AU2, and RP1, all of which are Paralympic classes. There are 100 athletes competing across the 8 Paralympic classes. Bold classes below are the Paralympic classes.
Table: Para Climbing Class Numbers
| Amputee – AL/AU | Range & Power – RP | Visual Impairment – B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AL – 14 Men & Women | 19 Men 7 Women |
6 Men 6 Women |
| 2 | AL - 23 Men 12 Women AU - 14 Men 13 Women |
10 Men 9 Women |
6 Men 6 Women |
| 3 | AU – 13 Men 6 Women |
15 Men 10 Women |
7 Men 9 Women |
Look out for athletes across all the categories, including Pavitra Vandenhoven and Angelino Zeller in AL1, and Sarah Larcombe in AL2, who is returning from injury. Thierry Delarue in men's AL2 has never lost a Para Climbing competition. Oriane Ilpide in AU3 is only 16 and finished third in Innsbruck this year.
Keep an eye out for Innsbruck winners Sho Aita in men's B1 and Seneida Biendarra in women's B2. Camille Caulier won his first World Cup in Innsbruck this year in RP3, one of the larger categories. Benjamin Mayforth will battle with Manikandan Kumar and Philipp Hrozek in RP2.
Lead
Both Adam Ondra and Jakob Schubert will be competing in Lead in Seoul. The World Championship will be their second IFSC event after the Koper World Cup. They have won the last 7 World Championships in Lead between them, 4 for Jakob and 3 for Adam. The last time someone else won a Lead World Championship was back in 2011, when Ramón Julián Puigblanque beat them both. Will someone break their dominance over the World Championship title? Can one of Alberto Ginés López, Toby Roberts or Sorato Anraku beat them?
Adam Ondra and Jakob Schubert have won the last 7 World Championships in Lead between them.
Ai Mori, the current Lead World Champion, will not be competing in Seoul. She has only competed in 2 World Cups all year - a Lead World Cup in Bali and a Boulder one in Prague. With Ai absent, Janja Garnbret is the clear favourite to pick up her third Lead World Championship. She would still be chasing Angie Eiter's record of 4 Lead World Championship wins, one of the few records Janja does not hold. Erin McNeice and Chaehyun Seo, who have both been battling for the World Cup series. How will they do now that the series is decided?
The Lead semi-final and finals rounds will happen before the Boulder ones this year. This is a reversal of the combined and Boulder&Lead format and order of the disciplines at the Innsbruck World Cup. It will be interesting to see how this affects the athletes in the Boulder finals on the weekend who did Lead on Friday.
Speed
The entire Indonesian Speed team will be absent from the World Championship, which makes it not feel like a “proper” Speed World Championship. Speed is the most unpredictable of the disciplines, but Aleksandra Miroslaw will be looking for a record-equaling third World Championship win.
Emma Hunt, who won the women's speed series, will be looking to improve on her silver medal from Bern 2023. She beat Aleksandra at the Bern World Championship and again in Kraków this year.
With the men's Speed World Cup series winner and the Olympic champion not competing, the favourites look to be Peng Wu, who returns to competition for the first time since the Olympics, and the World Record holder, Sam Watson. But as we saw in both Kraków, when Sam false-started, and in Guiyang last weekend, when both Sam and Kiromal lost their first final race, anything can happen.
Boulder
Boulder will be the last discipline to decide its medals this year.
On the women's side, Janja Garnbret is looking for her fourth Boulder World Championship win. She already has more Boulder World Championships than any other woman. Oriane Bertone and Naïlé Meignan are ones to watch out for from the French team. The Japanese team includes many of those from the early half of the season, including Mao Nakamura, Miho Nonaka, Futaba Ito, Mashiro Kuzuu, and Melody Sekikawa. Anon Matsufuji, who won the Asian Continental Championship last year, gets a named spot at the World Championship.
On the men's side, Mickael Mawem will not be defending his World Championship title. Can Sorato Anraku continue his winning ways in Boulder by adding a World Championship win, something even Kilian Fischhuber never managed. Or will Toby Roberts surprise everyone, like he did in Innsbruck?
The Japanese team sees the return of many athletes from the first half of the season. We will get to see Meichi Narasaki, Yuji Fujiwaki, and Rei Sugimoto again. They join Sohta Amagasa, Tomoa Narasaki, and Meichi Narasaki.
The World Championship will be Rei Sugimoto's last Boulder competition. He announced his retirement after the Salt Lake City World Cup in May. Rei has been competing on the World Cup circuit since 2009, winning two Boulder World Cups.
For both Lead and Boulder, the setting team is very similar to Innsbruck, with Yann Genoux joining the Lead team and Manuel Hassler joining the Boulder team.
The weather for the outdoor qualification round looks to be dry enough except for the Para Climbing on Saturday. There is a chance of rain on some of the final days. All of the finals will be held in the indoor KSPO Dome stadium, which can hold up to 15,000 seated people and is the premier venue in South Korea.
Schedule
- Saturday 20th September:
- 9:00 - 15:00 – Para Climbing Qualifications
- Sunday 21st September:
- 9:00 - 15:00 – Para Climbing Qualifications
- Monday 22nd September:
- 9:00 - 16:30 – Lead Qualifications
- Tuesday 23rd September:
- 9:00 - 14:00 – Men's Boulder Qualifications
- 16:00 - 20:00 – Women's Boulder Qualifications
- Wednesday 24th September:
- 09:00 - 11:30 – Women's Speed Practice and Qualification
- 13:30 - 16:00 – Para Climbing Final
- 20:00 - 21:00 – Women's Speed Final
- Thursday 25th September:
- 09:00 - 11:30 – Men's Speed Practice and Qualification
- 13:30 - 16:00 – Para Climbing Final
- 20:00 - 21:00 – Men's Speed Final
- Friday 26th September:
- 10:00 - 12:30 – Lead Semi-final
- 19:00 - 21:00 – Lead Final
- Saturday 27th September:
- 10:00 - 12:30 – Women's Boulder Semi-final
- 19:00 - 21:00 – Women's Boulder Final
- Sunday 28th September:
- 10:00 - 12:30 – Men's Boulder Semi-final
- 19:00 - 21:00 – Men's Boulder Final
News
- Emma Hunt won the Speed World Cup series. She is the first American woman to win the Speed World Cup series. Emma had the most ranking points in the 2021 Speed World Cup series. However, there were only two competitions that year, so no series winner was named.
Shixue Meng won her first World Cup in Guiyang. She previously won the Youth World Championship in 2024 and 2025. She also won the Asian Championship in Speed last year in Tai'an. Jimin Jeong won her 3rd third? silver medal, and Emma Hunt won the bronze medal. - Kiromal Katibin won his first World Cup series in Guiyang despite falling in his first race in the final. He was fastest in qualification, finishing 9th . Sam Watson finished 2nd in the series after also falling in his first race in the final.
Shouhong Chu won his first World Cup gold medal as China made it two for two. He beat Ryo Omasa in the final. Ryo's silver medal moved him up into third in the 2025 series. Leander Carmanns won the bronze medal in the small final ahead of Yaroslav Tkach.
Media Recommendations
Jinni Xia
Jinni talks with Sagi Damti, the German bouldering coach, about what coaches “actually do”. They also talk about why coaches appeal in competitions and the fundamental problems with the World Cup boulder format.
Jonathan Sin tries to become number one in Hong Kong in the 2024 Moonboard ranking.
A beautiful portrait of Sho Aita, a visually impaired climber from Japan who has dominated the men's B1 class. He has only finished below 1st once in 16 competitions over the last 13 years.
Oriane Bertone talks about her post-Olympics depression and how she returned to compete this year. The video is in French, but there are English subtitles.
Dipi and Xian talk about climbing injuries and how to get back to climbing.
Where to Buy Tickets
Seoul IFSC World Championship and Para Climbing World Championship
When: 20th–28th September
Where: South Korea
Where to buy tickets: Tickets will be needed for the following (all indoor events):
- Paraclimbing Finals
- Speed Qualification and Finals - Women and Men
- Lead Semi-Finals and Finals - Women and Men
- Boulder Semi-Finals and Finals - Women and Men.
All other events are free of charge. Access to the venue is limited. Entry is restricted to first-come, first-served.
Tickets for the indoor events are available through Interpark Global. The indoor rounds are held in the KSPO Dome in the Olympic Park.
IFSC Climbing Grand Finals Fukuoka 2025
When: 23rd–26th October
Where: Japan
Where to buy tickets: The competition will be held at the Chikuho Green Park / Iizuka Sports Resort The Retreat in Fukuoka Prefecture. The location is inaccessible by public transport.
Tickets for the event are now on sale. You can buy them through HIS Visit Japan.
Laval IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup
When: 24th–26th October
Where: France
Where to buy tickets: You can buy tickets for the Para Climbing event and the Continental Speed event here.
