The US climber flashed three out of four boulders in the final, placing ahead of French duo Oriane Bertone and Naïlé Maignan.
The third stage of the IFSC World Cup Series 2024 concluded at the USA Climbing Training Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, with the women’s Boulder final round.
Following yesterday’s double gold in Speed, Team USA secured their third win of the event with Natalia Grossman, who finished the round with three tops and four zones, and placed ahead of French duo Oriane Bertone and Naïlé Maignan.
Despite finishing with the same score as Bertone, Grossman maintained the top position one flash after the other, topping the first three boulders in her first attempt and distancing herself from the other finalists.
“I’m extremely proud,” said Grossman, whose count of World Cup medals in the Boulder discipline is now up to 10 – six of which have been won in Salt Lake City. “That second climb in the final, I’ve been working on coordination so much this past few months, and to have it pay off in the semi-final and in the final… I was psyched.
“I always love the World Cup in Salt Lake City. The crowd hyped us up. I appreciate it a lot. It is very special to have my family here, being able to sleep in my own bed, eat my own food, it’s really nice.”
Bertone, on the other hand, failed to solve W3, but secured second place with a top on the fourth and final problem. The French 19-year-old, who is already qualified for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, did not participate in the first two World Cup events of the season in Keqiao and Wujiang, and podiumed for the seventh time out of nine World Cup final participation.
The bronze medal was awarded to Bertone’s teammate Naïlé Maignan, competing in a World Cup event for the first time since May 2019. Maignan joined Grossman and Bertone on the podium with the identical score of three tops and four boulders, placing behind her teammate because of a higher number of attempts to zone.
Just outside of the podium, Oceania Mackenzie of Australia finished in fourth place; Brooke Raboutou of the USA followed in fifth; and Nakamura Mao of Japan closed in sixth.
The circuit of IFSC World Cup events will return at the end of June – 25 to 30 – with the highly anticipated Boulder and Lead combo of competitions in Innsbruck, Austria.
From 16 to 19 May, and from 20 to 23 June, 160 climbers will compete at the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai, China, and Budapest, Hungary, battling for the last batch of Paris 2024 quotas up for grabs.
News and updates about all Climbing events will be available on the IFSC website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin and Weibo.
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