Sean McColl, Akiyo Noguchi Win Bouldering World Cup, Chongqing, China
Team Japan nearly swept the podium for women’s bouldering at the fourth 2015 IFSC World Cup competition in Chongqing, China, this weekend, with Akiyo Noguchi and Miho Nonaka taking gold and silver and Aya Onoe placing fourth behind Shauna Coxsey of Great Britain.
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![Sean McColl taking the gold in Chongqing, China. [Photo courtesy of Sean McColl and The Circuit Climbing]](https://d1vs4ggwgd7mlq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/Article-Images/News-Photos/June-2015/sean_mccoll_china_2015.png?width=730 "Sean McColl taking the gold in Chongqing, China. [Photo courtesy of Sean McColl and The Circuit Climbing]")
Team Japan nearly swept the podium for women’s bouldering at the fourth 2015 IFSC World Cup competition in Chongqing, China, this weekend, with Akiyo Noguchi and Miho Nonaka taking gold and silver and Aya Onoe placing fourth behind Shauna Coxsey of Great Britain.
Noguchi dominated throughout the competition and was the only athlete to send every problem in the competition.
“The problems of this World Cup were not super hard compared to previous competitions,” Noguchi wrote on Facebook. “But that meant they were challenging our flash ability more. This really challenged our mentality till the very last problem at finals.”
Sean McColl of Canada topped out all four problems in finals to win his fourth World Cup, second bouldering, gold after placing fifth two weeks ago in the men’s World Cup bouldering competition in Vail. German powerhouse Jan Hojer, the men’s champion in Vail, took fourth behind Japanese climbers Jongwon Chon and Tsukuru Hori.
“I’m really glad to have more than one [bouldering] win because someone can always say the first was a fluke,” McColl told Rock and Ice. “With a second win, you’re proving to yourself that it wasn’t a fluke.”
Only two Americans attended, with Nathaniel Coleman making Semi-Finals to place 18th and Sierra Blair-Coyle placing 21st, one place out of Semi-Finals.
Qixin Zhong of China and Mariia Krasavina of Russia won the men’s and women’s speed competitions, also held in China this past weekend.
The fifth IFSC World Cup competition will be held on June 26 and 27 in Haiyang, China, and will include men’s and women’s bouldering and speed climbing.
Results (top six):
Women’s Bouldering:
- Akiyo Noguchi (JPN)
- Miho Nonaka (JPN)
- Shauna Coxsey (GBR)
- Aya Onoe (JPN)
- Monika Retschy (GER)
- Sol Sa (KOR)
Men’s Bouldering:
- Sean McColl (CAN)
- Jongwon Chon (KOR)
- Tsukuru Hori (JPN)
- Jan Hojer (GER)
- Jeremy Bonder (FRA)
- Andrzej Mecherzynski-Wiktor (POL)