At this weekend’s Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sorato Anraku of Japan came out on top, winning his fifth World Cup gold medal. Anraku was the only competitor to top three of the four problems in the final. Every other athlete only topped one problem. Anraku was joined on the podium by teammate Meichi Narasaki in second and Austrian Jakob Schubert in third.
“I’m very happy to have won gold in this beautiful place,” said Anraku after his win. “I feel good about my climbing today, even though it was a very nerve-wracking competition. When I figured out the moves on the final boulder, I knew I had it, and it felt very good to top it.”
This year is Anraku’s second season on the World Cup circuit. It’s hard to remember a rookie season as incredible as the one he had in 2023. He made the finals at every Lead World Cup event, earning sixth in Villars, fourth in Innsbruck, bronze in Chamonix, and gold in Briançon, Koper, and Wujiang. He also won silver at the Lead World Championships. In the Boulder World Cup, he won silver in Salt Lake City and gold in Innsbruck. All of this success resulted in him being overall champion for both Boulder and Lead. He ended 2023 by winning a Paris Olympic ticket at the Asian Qualifier in Jakarta.
Anraku’s 2023 success is continuing into 2024. He’s now had three solid performances in the first three World Cups of the year. He won silver at the Boulder World Cup in Keqiao, bronze at the Lead World Cup in Wujiang, and now gold at the Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City. The IFSC current ranks him in first for both Boulder and Lead. He is undoubtably one of the favourites to win the Olympics this summer.
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