World Cup Season Kicks Off with a Masterclass from Raboutou
CLIMBING MAGAZINE
APRIL 23, 2023
JOHN BURGMAN
Particularly in the early portion of the event, much of the attention centered around Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret, widely considered the G.O.A.T. but absent in Hachioji to continue mending a fractured toe. Yet, as the competition inside Hachioji’s sprawling Esforta Arena clipped along, Garnbret’s nonattendance became less of a talking point while other competitors slipped into the spotlight.
The women’s division was marked by a figurative traffic jam near the top of the leaderboard following the qualification round; Japan’s Miho Nonaka and Anon Matsufuji, Israel’s Ayala Kerem, Germany’s Hannah Meul, and Team USA’s dynamic duo of Brooke Raboutou and Natalia Grossman were among the standout competitors (all but Meul earning five tops). And aside from Nonaka and Grossman, those same names remained tightly packed in the semi-finals as well, each securing two tops, with some added pressure coming from China’s 17-year-old standout Zhilu Luo and Slovenia’s Mia Krampl.
It wasn’t until the women’s final round that the scores began to uncouple. Raboutou and Meul pulled away with the only tops on the first boulder, a progression from a blocked crimp to a slopey upper crux. An overly acrobatic second boulder went untopped. But Raboutou was able to further distance herself from everyone else by securing the only top of the slabby third boulder. Another sole top by Raboutou on the final boulder seemed like icing on the cake, but it also ensured a gold medal—Raboutou’s first ever. Meul, anchored by that top of the first boulder, earned the silver, and Matsufuji (with three zone holds but no tops) earned the bronze.
The men’s division kicked off with some early supremacy from Team Japan; half of the top 10 finishers in the qualification round were members of the Japanese squad, including established names like Tomoa Narasaki, Yoshiyuki Ogata, and Kokoro Fujii. In fact, several competitors topped all the boulders in the qualification round, creating high expectations for an action-packed semi-finals.
Unfortunately, bright spots in the semis were few and far between. France’s Mejdi Schalck wowed the crowd by rocketing through the coordination grabs of a dynamic fourth boulder to secure the first top of the round—but it did not come until 50 minutes into the livestream. Some other impressive ascents occurred throughout the proceedings, including sends of the round’s last two boulders by South Korea’s Jongwon Chon and France’s Paul Jenft. But Chon struggled in the finals while Schalck and Jenft continued to shine. Schalck was the only competitor to top the first boulder of the finals, which featured a wide compression start with a sloper-pocket crux. He followed this up with a send of the slabby second boulder as well, pursued by Jenft and 18-year-old Belgian Hannes Van Duysen—who also topped the slab.
The final round concluded with something of an anticlimax—no tops by any men on the last two boulders. This resulted in Schalck winning the gold medal as a result of the round’s earlier ascents; Van Duysen and Jenft were awarded the silver and bronze medals, respectively. It wasn’t the most electrifying ending to an event, but that should not detract from Schalck’s victory. He’s just 18 years old, but already one of the most consistently impressive competitors of the past few boulder seasons.
Here are some other random thoughts on the Hachioji event.
The lead-up to this World Cup (and, by extension, the lead-up to the start of the whole circuit) was somber and subdued, to say the least. Approximately one week ago, we learned that German national team athlete Christoph Schweiger had been tragically killed by a drunk driver. The tributes that appeared on social media in the aftermath of Schweiger’s passing illustrated what an incredibly kind, cheerful, intelligent, and supportive human being he was… and how big the void is now that he is gone. The entire German team wore black armbands at this Hachioji event in memory of Schweiger, the IFSC held a moment of silence prior to the start of the men’s final round, and Hannah Meul even wore Schweiger’s athlete credentials lanyard when standing on the women’s podium—all of which were poignant gestures.
Let’s talk more about Brooke Raboutou and her win in the women’s division: In terms of a resume, Raboutou is now an Olympian and a World Cup gold medalist. What was truly incredible was how focused and confident she looked throughout all rounds in Hachioji, as if she was aware of—and comfortably in control of—her own destiny. It’s rare when a climber competes with such sharpness and conviction for an entire event; it also makes for the most exciting performances.
As the IFSC noted, Raboutou’s victory marked the first time since 2018 that a competitor other than Natalia Grossman or Janja Garnbret had won a women’s Boulder World Cup. Wow, five years ago…that might as well have been an entirely different era.
Going further down the statistics rabbit hole: By my calculations, Brooke Raboutou’s win in Hachioji was 9,996 days after her mother (Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou) last won a World Cup, and 11,846 days after her father (Didier Raboutou) last won a World Cup.
Brooke Raboutou has long been seen as somewhat of a lead specialist, but I keep going back to the finals of those Tokyo Olympics two years ago. For all intents and purposes, Raboutou was the only competitor to hang with Janja Garnbret in the bouldering portion of the finals there. (Raboutou came ever-so-close to topping the Olympics’ initial two boulders, whereas Garnbret topped both.) The Olympics were the best indication of Raboutou’s evolving skill set. Now, officially, Raboutou is as multifaceted as they come and has the hardware to prove it.
Slab boulders often slow the energy and stall the momentum of the viewing experience. With that in mind, it was an interesting choice to kick off the women’s semi-finals in Hachioji—the first World Cup livestream of the whole 2023 season—with a slab.
Speaking of routesetting, the second boulder of the women’s semi-finals in Hachioji featured a hanging, swinging early move, as did the second boulder in the women’s finals. I like swinging coordination moves as much as anyone, but I’m not sure fans needed such similar moves, in such similar places on the respective boulders, in back-to-back women’s rounds.
There was a scary moment in the semi-finals when Italy’s Camilla Moroni timed out on the swingy second boulder and hit her head on a purple volume as she fell to the ground. It could have been a nasty head injury, but luckily it seems that her head only grazed the side of the volume.
You can tell that the first instinct of Japan’s Ai Mori is to not dyno. In fact, oftentimes Mori actively tries to avoid doing moves dynamically, as illustrated at the jumpy top of the third women’s boulder in the semi-finals (which she tried unsuccessfully to do statically). That type of resolute adherence to static moves has helped Mori a lot in the lead discipline, but it is a glaring liability for her in the boulder discipline. Still, if she can gain some more comfort and proficiency in dynamic movement, I see her winning multiple boulder World Cups down the road.
Japan might very well have found its next powerhouse in the boulder discipline. The bronze medal of 19-year-hold Anon Matsufuji in the women’s division at this World Cup came on the heels of a victory at the Asia Continental Cup a few months ago, and a fifth-place finish at the Brixen World Cup last summer. At this point, Matsufuji’s progression is among the most intriguing storylines to watch this season.
There is similar intrigue for the progression of Japan’s Sorato Anraku, the 16-year-old phenom in the men’s field. This Hachioji event was Anraku’s first-ever appearance in a World Cup, and it resulted in his first-ever appearance in a final round. What a way to start a career in the adult division!
Here’s an awesome moment that probably got lost in the shuffle: There was a point on the first boulder of the men’s semi-finals when Japan’s Meichi Narasaki was able to use his six foot, one-inch frame to reach directly up for a crimp, instead of having to toy around with a high toe-hook and throw somewhat sideways (and desperately) to the crimp. In other words, Narasaki was able to essentially skip the boulder’s low crux entirely. It was a brilliant example of a tall competitor utilizing his height to his advantage.
This was not a good World Cup for the men of Team USA. Colin Duffy placed highest at 27th, followed by Hugo Hoyer at 31st, Sean Bailey at 39th, Dillon “Bob” Countryman at 47th, Zach Galla at 56th, and Jesse Grupper at 61st. Undoubtedly there are some positives that will be gained from the event for all. But these results equated to American fans not getting to watch a single U.S. man in the semi-finals (let alone the finals). That was a downer, especially since comp fandom in the U.S. is currently at an all-time high.
Speaking of/to American fans: Did you notice that Team USA has new kits—white, as opposed to the navy uniforms of seasons past? Several other teams were sporting new colors too. Although it probably wasn’t the reason for Team USA’s decision to change the color, I will say that autographs would show up better on the white kit… should USA Climbing ever want to auction off a competitor’s autographed jersey for charity, fundraising, etc.
It’s hard to think of any American who has ever had more hype heading into a World Cup debut than double-national champion Annie Sanders. She ended up finishing tied for 37th place at this Hachioji World Cup, and I consider that to be a really solid result—sandwiched beneath some well-known veterans (such as Switzerland’s Petra Klingler and France’s Fanny Gibert), but a tad higher than Olympians such as Italy’s Laura Rogora and Canada’s Alannah Yip. I’m stoked to see how Sanders’ season progresses as she gains World Cup experience. Amid it all, keep in mind that she’s still only 15 years old.
Results
Women
Brooke Raboutou (USA)
Hannah Meul (GER)
Anon Matsufuji (JPN)
Ayala Kerem (ISR)
Zhilu Luo (CHN)
Mia Krampl (SLO)
Men
Mejdi Schalck (FRA)
Hannes Van Duysen (BEL)
Paul Jenft (FRA)
Kokoro Fujii (JPN)
Sorato Anraku (JPN)
Jongwon Chon (KOR)
