Home hero Lee Dohyun wins final Boulder competition of 2024 IFSC Sport Climbing World Cup season
The 21-year-old topped two problems in Seoul, Republic of Korea, to claim his second World Cup victory in a row, while U.S. teenager Annie Sanders took the women's event.
Sport Climbing
Home hero Lee Dohyun put on a masterclass to claim the men's Boulder title at the 2024 IFSC Sport Climbing World Cup in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on Thursday (3 October).
Showing no signs of fatigue after his dramatic late qualification from the semi-final a day earlier, the 21-year-old topped two problems and finished in the zone four times.
Max Milne of Great Britain sealed silver with the same result but having taken an extra attempt, while Japan's Amagasa Sohta, the Innsbruck World Cup winner, completed the podium with bronze.
Victory in Seoul caps a roller-coaster year for Lee, who topped the Boulder and Lead standings during the Olympic Qualifier Series 2024, before finishing in 15th place at Paris 2024. He then rebounded by claiming his first World Cup victory of the season in Prague, Czechia.
“I thought if Max got the top in three he would win the gold so when he got it he had won. I thought congratulations, but then my team and coaches said it was me who had won. I couldn’t understand it. I’m just really happy to win in front of my home crowd, it means a lot," the Korean said after.
Meanwhile, Japan's Anraku Sorato claimed the overall World Cup Boulder crown.
The event in Seoul from 2-6 October is the last World Cup stop of the 2024 calendar and features all sport climbing disciplines. The competition has livestream coverage Olympic Channel via Olympics.com in selected territories, with highlights and replays also available.
USA's Anastasia Sanders sealed her maiden World Cup win in the women's competition with three tops and four zones, with a flash on the last boulder cementing her win.
“I’m definitely still in shock right now. I wasn’t expecting this. After the second boulder I almost kind of gave up hope as a lot of people were topping that one so I was just trying to have fun for the rest of the round, and it paid off," she said after.
The 17-year-old finished ahead of European champion Zelia Avezou of France in silver, while Great Britain's Erin McNeice, who finished fifth at Paris 2024, took bronze.
Sanders' teammate Natalia Grossman won the overall World Cup title.