3,000 fans came to watch Jakob Schubert win despite the rain. The six-time climbing world champion withstood the pressure once again. As the semi-final winner, he was the last athlete to reach the wall, and the tricky final route demanded everything from him. "The route was definitely more difficult than we thought. Some holds were rather bad, then there were new ones, and the friction wasn't that great today either. It was simply unpleasant and difficult. On some moves I thought that was it, but somehow I stayed in," said Schubert. "My climbing wasn't ideal, but the fight was brilliant."
Praise for the home crowd
The German Alexander Megos, who has a friendship with Schubert, led the way with 42+ holds. Schubert made it further and secured first place with 45 holds - his 24th victory in total in the World Cup (21 lead climbing, 3 bouldering) and his second in Innsbruck. "I actually thought that I had to get the top for the win. Suddenly the crowd went so crazy that I knew I was probably first," he admits and praises the home crowd. "It was absolutely amazing. Winning today is something very special for me. You don't experience moments like this very often in life, it was just really cool!"
Schubert also managed a successful dress rehearsal for the Olympic Games. Great Britain's Toby Roberts, a co-favorite on paper in Paris, finished third with 41+ holds, while Japan's youngster Sorato Anraku missed out on the final. "Anyone who sees me in training knows that I'm fit. It was especially important for me in the semi-final to see that I can fight hard on a strenuous route," says Schubert, taking a lot of self-confidence with him. "It was also a bit of a message to the competition."
Schubert will not compete in any more World Cups before Paris and will concentrate on training in Innsbruck. "The bouldering result wasn't ideal, but I still performed well and felt fit. Nevertheless, there is still potential in some areas and I want to be in the best shape of my life in Paris." A side note: Schubert also won the home competition in 2021, and a few weeks later he won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo: "Not a bad omen."
Pilz unhappy, joy for Pötzi
The women's final was characterized by a jump before the 23rd grip. Jessica Pilz and Mattea Pötzi, like three other athletes, were unable to master it. As the semi-final result decides in the event of a tie in the final, Pilz came fourth and Pötzi seventh.
"Unfortunately, I hesitated too long, then I felt the fatigue in my left arm and realized on the take-off that it wasn't working," said Pilz. "It's a beginner's mistake because I should already know that you can't wait to jump. It's also annoying because I couldn't show what I'm capable of."
Pilz had already announced that he wanted to compete in the Lead World Cup in Chamonix (FRA) before Paris. "I saw how good my fitness is in the semi-final. That's why I'm very satisfied. Now it's just a matter of continuing to concentrate and improving the finer points. It's a good sign that I'm at the front in both disciplines. But I would have preferred to be on the podium in lead."
For Pötzi, seventh place was her best World Cup result of her career. "I'm pleased with the result, I can take a lot of positives from Innsbruck, but I wasn't able to show everything in the final. I was annoyed at first, but as more and more athletes failed there, I realized that it wasn't an easy place," said the Carinthian, who thanked the rainproof fans: "Climbing in front of a home crowd is always amazing. It's cool that everyone stayed despite the bad weather - we really appreciate that."
Overwhelming result
Victory in the women's event went to Olympic champion Janja Garnbret (SLO), who reached the top three seconds before the time limit expired and was therefore able to knock the Japanese athlete (also top) off the top spot. Chaehyun Seo (KOR), the third athlete to master the jump, finished third with 36 holds.
The World Cup week thus ended as it had begun: with a home win. The results of the IFSC Climbing World Cup Innsbruck were overwhelming: All four days on which tickets were required were sold out in advance. In addition, thousands of people made it to the Innsbruck Climbing Center for the qualifications (free entry), with more than 17,000 people attending in total.
