PREVIEW: ROUND 1 OF UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD CUP SEASON

29 Dec 2019

The UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup season, partnered by Outdoor Research, gets underway with a first visit to Changchun City in China’s Jilin Province from 3-5 January 2020. This will be the third different location to play host to the event in China, following previous visits to Beijing and Hohhot. The event is organised with the support of the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA).

Three days of competition lay ahead for a current entry list of 80 athletes from 16 countries. The host country will be strongly represented by a 15-strong squad. Other nations to be represented include Canada, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Great Britain, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States. The event will see the return of a number of familiar faces. Last season’s overall defending champions Nikolai Kuzovlev (men’s lead) and fellow Russians, Anton Nemov (men’s speed) and Maria Tolokonina, (women’s lead) will all be hoping to continue where they finished last season. Two of South Korea’s leading climbers; the highly experienced HeeYong Park and compatriot Lee Younggeon, are among those who will be hoping to challenge, while several of the next generation of young climbers such as Sina Goetz (Switzerland) will be looking to build on the success they enjoyed last season.

Opening Ceremony – UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup, Beijing (2019). Photo: UIAA/CMA

Changchun will be hoping to match last season’s corresponding event in Beijing which proved a memorable competition and saw the arrival of some new faces on the podium. France’s Nathan Clair claimed the silver medal in the men’s lead event in his very first finals, pushing the formidable Kuzovlev all the way. In the women’s lead event there was little surprise in the dominance of Maria Tolokonina, but there was perhaps more elsewhere on the podium as Finland were represented for the very first time when Enni Bertling won the bronze medal, while Ireland’s Eimir McSwiggan claimed silver.

Maria Tolokonina climbs to victory in Beijing. Photo: UIAA/CMA

The semi-finals and finals of the lead competition; finals of the speed event will be livestreamed on the UIAA social media channels, You Tube, Facebook and Twitter. The World Tour is partnered by Outdoor Research.