Park Hee Yong and Angelika Rainer win big in Saas Fee

UIAA
Summary: Park Hee Yong of Korea and Angelika Rainer of Italy are the new Lead champions for men and women in Saas Fee.
Live Blog
Official and final results from Saas Fee:
20:55: All that talk about the Russians was blown out of the water by the climb of a lifetime from Park Hee Yong of Korea, who on his second climb of the night – because of the earlier technical – just cruised to the top to win Gold.

It was no contest.

When he reached the final ice barrel, the same one that the Tomilov brothers barely managed to reach and pass, Park had minutes to spare. Yes, that’s right!
This was one of those performances that will be talked about for years to come. It is the stuff of legend.
Earlier in the night, because of a technical, Park was given the choice of a second climb, and he chose to climb again.
In what is now becoming a signature move, Park, after he topped the wall, did just as he had in Rabenstein last year, kept climbing past the top, reached the lip, stood on it, cleared the rope out of the way and then jumped off the wall.
20:43: It took the tall, cool, calm and strong Russian Maxim Tomilov to bring some order into a crazy night in Saas Fee, Switzerland. In his typically, clinical manner, Maxim topped the Lead wall, without apparently breaking a sweat, and yet the provisional results so that he’s still behind his brother Alexey. The difference should be in the seconds, when the official results come out later.

Now we wait for Park Hee Yong, who will make his second climb of the night, based on the earlier technical.

“With minutes to spare,” is how Park Hee Yong’s climb will be remembered for years to come.
What an athlete. What a competitor and yes, what a great champion.
Bronze in Cheongsong this year, silver in Busteni and now Gold in Saas Fee.
20.28: For young Janez Svoljšak, with more than 5 minutes to spare, an unfortunate early fall means the end of his great series of climbs in Saas Fee. With only Maxim Tomilov left to climb on this night, where so many unexpected things have happened, who’s to say what’s next.
Experience counts in Lead.

The standings so far:

BIB Name Country Rank
75 Tomilov Alexey RUS 1
49 Kuzovlev Nikolay RUS 2
116 Primerov Nikolay AZE 3
50 Kryvosheytsev Yevgen UKR 4
66 Svoljšak Janez SLO 5
94 Novoseltsev Evgeniy RUS 6
22.04: More excitement during the climb by the veteran Alexey Tomilov, the first athlete to top the wall tonight. Yes, yet another unexpected turn of events that will lead to a technical delay. Not only did he make it with time to spare, but even managed to knock off the final hold.On his way down, he almost did a back flip, his hands outstretched, screaming with joy, knowing a Gold might be at hand.

Delay as route setters put the hold back on, as Janez Svoljšak waits as judges also review Alexey’s climb.

 21.54: More drama in the Men’s Lead as Russian climber Nikolay Kuzovlev found himself tangled up with his rope at the same barrel where Park timed out. Kuzolev lost crucial seconds and timed out. Anything can happen tonight. He’s now in the lead and Alexey Tomilov up next. Remember, Park will climb again.
21.45: Some unexpected drama as Park Hee Yong was reaching the top, the lights went out during a failed attempt at light show. Park timed out on a roof barrel but he kept on climbing, as the crowd urged him on. The judges upon reviewing the situation, agreed it was a technical and gave him a choice to climb again. He agreed! Park will climb again after the last climber.
21.26: Nikokay Primerov, formerly of Russia who now represents Azerbaijan reached the highest point yet with about 20 + seconds to spare before falling off the second from last barrel. Recovering from a recent accident, he told UIAA Ice Climbing Commission Urs Stoecker, the MC of the evening that all you need is “motivation, that’s it, just go for it.”
Well said.
21.15: Yevgen Kryvosheytsev of Ukraine is the first climber of the Men’s Lead final. Both he and Evgeniy Novoseltsev fell early, so things are moving quickly.
The starting list:
START COMPETITOR NAME COUNTRY TSHIRT
1 Kryvosheytsev Yevgen UKR 50
2 Novoseltsev Evgeniy RUS 94
3 Primerov Nikolay AZE 116
4 Park HeeYong KOR 88
5 Kuzovlev Nikolay RUS 49
6 Tomilov Alexey RUS 75
7 Svoljšak Janez SLO 66
8 Tomilov Maxim RUS 97
19:50: The Women’s Lead champion in Saas Fee is Angelika Rainer.
Angelika Rainer made her final clip with a few seconds to spare, and then she dropped her pick and fell. But that final clip, was what allowed her to earn exactly the same points as Shin WoonSeon, who had timed out on her earlier climb.
When the judges reviewed their decision, Angelika was declared the winner because her semi-final points record was better than WoonSeon.
The implications are big for the quest for overall champion, because if Woon Seon, had won, the gap between her and other contenders would have widened considerably.
Rainer’s victory closes the gap between her and WoonSeon considerably.
  • WoonSeon was 2nd in Korea, 1st in Busteni and now 2nd in Saas Fee.
  • Rainer was 3rd in Korea, 2nd in Busteni and now 1st in Saas Fee.
You do the math. The competition just got more exciting.
19:30: It’s between Angelika Rainer and Shin Woon Seon now. It seemed as if Maria Tolokonina, who gathered steam, as she approached the final clip, with time to spare, almost a minute, would top and beat Shin Woon Seon. But she failed on the final lunge, and with that fall was dashed her hopes of a Gold medal.
19:15 After crossing the final ice barrel, Maryam Filippov tried hard, again and again to make one of the final clips but couldn’t. She simply ran out of time. Shin WoonSeon, now guaranteed a medal, two more climbers left. Maryam will have to watch and wait to see whether she will have a place on the podium. A more distant possibility is that, if both Angelika Rainer and Maria Tolokonina fall, Lucie Hrzova could also find herself on the podium.
19:02:Shin WoonSeon cruised to the top, at one point almost a minute and a half head of Lucie Hrzova, the previous climber, but time out one clip short of the top. She’s still the leader, for now …
17:50: The Women’s Lead final is set to start at any moment. Two names you don’t normally see on this list are Marianne van der Steen and Petra Klingler, who didn’t participate in Cheongsong or Busteni.
Each climb lasts 10 minutes. Your starting list, beginning with the lowest time and score in the semi-finals:
START COMPETITOR NAME COUNTRY TSHIRT
1 Gallyamova Nadezhda RUS 32
2 van der Steen Marianne NED 9
3 Hrozova Lucie CZE 38
4 Klingler Petra SUI 39
5 Shin WoonSeon KOR 8
6 Filippova Maryam RUS 24
7 Tolokonina Maria RUS 37
8 Rainer Angelika ITA 3
16.41: With 18 seconds left, veteran Maxim Tomilov tops and beats Janez Svoljšak heading into the Men’s final at 21:00 CET. Note Women’s Lead final begins at 17:45 CET.
The other seven climbers in the Men’s final besides Maxim are:
BIB Name Country Rank
66 Svoljšak Janez SLO 1
75 Tomilov Alexey RUS 2
49 Kuzovlev Nikolay RUS 3
88 Park HeeYong KOR 4
116 Primerov Nikolay AZE 5
94 Novoseltsev Evgeniy RUS 6
50 Kryvosheytsev Yevgen UKR 7
Maxim’s lead means that the 9th climber on the list, Yannick Glatthard of Switzerland, won’t have a place in the finals.

16:30 With one semi-final climber, Maxim Tomilov left, to climb Janez Svoljšak remains in the lead.

16.00: Fourteen of the 18 starting climbers for the semi-finals have climbed and Janez Svoljšak, the young Slovenian climber who won the UIAA Open North American Championships in Bozeman, Montana is now in the lead, ahead of veteran Alexey Tomilov.
BIB Name Country Rank
66 Svoljšak Janez SLO 1
75 Tomilov Alexey RUS 2
49 Kuzovlev Nikolay RUS 3
88 Park HeeYong KOR 4
94 Novoseltsev Evgeniy RUS 5
50 Kryvosheytsev Yevgen UKR 6
56 Glatthard Yannick SUI 7
84 Proshchenko Radomir RUS 8
120 Huser Kevin SUI 9
83 Garbolino-bressa Octave FRA 10
76 Zhelyazkov Stanimir BUL 11
107 Clavien Samuel SUI 12
60 Petkov Mincho BUL 13
45 Schüpbach Silvan SUI 14
13.26: Lead semi-finals for men have begun. Men have eight minutes to top, one minute less than the women.
Only eight of the 18 male climbers who climb this afternoon will reach the finals tonight. The starting list:
START COMPETITOR NAME COUNTRY TSHIRT
1 Kryvosheytsev Yevgen UKR 50
2 Petkov Mincho BUL 60
3 Zhelyazkov Stanimir BUL 76
4 Clavien Samuel SUI 107
5 Garbolino-Bressa Octave FRA 83
6 Schüpbach Silvan SUI 45
7 Kuzovlev Nikolay RUS 49
8 Huser Kevin SUI 120
9 Glatthard Yannick SUI 56
10 Park HeeYong KOR 88
11 Novoseltsev Evgeniy RUS 94
12 Tomilov Alexey RUS 75
13 Proshchenko Radomir RUS 84
14 Svoljšak Janez SLO 66
15 Dengin Alexey RUS 58
16 Duverney-Guichard Simon FRA 42
17 Primerov Nikolay AZE 116
18 Tomilov Maxim RUS 97
Lunch Break. Lead semi-finals for men begins at 13:00 CET.
 12:26:  Maryam Filippova moves to the third place after she timed-out when she failed to clip the final quickdraw and didn’t top. The provisional results for the Women’s Lead semi-finals are:
BIB Name Country Rank Result Next Round
3 Rainer Angelika ITA 1 Top (8.35) Yes
37 Tolokonina Maria RUS 2 Top (8.39) Yes
24 Filippova Maryam RUS 3 17.23 Yes
8 Shin WoonSeon KOR 4 17.23 Yes
39 Klingler Petra SUI 5 17.23 Yes
38 Hrozova Lucie CZE 6 16.192 Yes
9 Van Der Steen Marianne NED 7 15.191 Yes
32 Gallyamova Nadezhda RUS 8 14.18 Yes
12.10: It’s only the semi-finals, but Angelika Rainer, also topped with about 22 seconds left, just two seconds behind Maryam Tolokonina. So Maria is ahead of her leading into the Grand Final. Maryam Filippova, the winner of yesterday’s Grand Final Speed is up next.
11.55: With 20 seconds left Maria Tolokonina, one of the strongest climbers on the tour, made her final clip and the first top of the semi-finals. Such a strong, cool, precise and fast climber. Maryam Filippova and Angelika Rainer left. “Hardly a single shake.”
Hate to say this again, but the final is going to be a dandy.
 11:44: The top eight climbers go through to the finals. With Maryam Filippova, Angelika Rainer and Maria Tolokonina left to climb, here are the top six so far:
BIB Name Country Rank
8 Shin WoonSeon KOR 1
39 Klingler Petra SUI 2
38 Hrozova Lucie CZE 3
9 Van Der Steen Marianne NED 4
32 Gallyamova Nadezhda RUS 5
15 Kulikova Natalya RUS 6
11.26: Young Petra Klingler just had a spectacular climb, putting her ahead of Lucie Hrzova. She was fast, took risks by skipping holds and might have topped had she not lost her axe on they final cylinder. In front of her home crowd, it’s shaping up to be a great final later tonight! Shin WoonSeon is next.
11:09: Marianne van der Steen of the Netherlands must be pumped. She’s set to enter the finals today, as Lucie Hrzova does her climb.
10.42: The top eight female climbers are about to start their semi-final climbs including young climbers such as Song HanNaRai, 20, of Korea who is looking really good. Same for Petra Klingler from yesterday. Still Lead is often about experience, and so WoonSeon, Rainer, Filippova, Hrozova and the others are still the ones to watch.
10.10: Women’s Lead semi-finals still underway. We’ve also updated our competition photo blog here.
The current semi-final standings for the climbers who have already climbed. Much more to come:
Rank Name Country BIB Result Next Round
1 Kratochvilova Martina CZE 2 12.15
2 JUAREZ Marjorie FRA 23 8.115
3 Olson Jennifer CAN 22 7.102
3 Kosek Olga POL 17 7.102
5 Vlasova Alena RUS 11 6.102
6 Aleksieieva Yevheniia UKR 10 6.09
7 Feoktistova Ekaterina RUS 29 3.04

Please click here for all the latest results and starting lists by following the prompts.

09.30: Now underway is the Women’s Lead semi-finals.

08.50: There are eighteen climbers in the semi-final round and that will be whittled down to eight climbers for the Grand Final.
Maryam Filippova, the number one ranked climber from Russia is having a great season and is leading the group into the final rounds but several wild cards exist including the young Swiss climber Petra Klingler, who had a great qualification climb and is placed 5th.There are also the strong and proven veterans such as Angelika Rainer and Shin WoonSeon.
Each athlete has nine minutes to reach the top compared to the six minutes for the qualifying rounds.
We are looking forward to a great day of climbing.
 08.30: Day 2 Schedule (Friday, 25 January 2014)
Lead Half-Final Women:
When: What: Where:
07.15 Isolation Zone open Isolation Room
07.45 Isolation Zone closed Isolation Room
08.15 – 08.30 Route Preview Ice Dome
08.45 – 11.45 Semi-Final Ice Dome
12.15 Results Competition Office
12.45 Starting List Final Competition Office
Lead Half-Final Men:
When: What: Where:
11.45 Isolation Zone open Isolation Room
12.00 Isolation Zone closed Isolation Room
12.30 – 12.45 Route Preview Ice Dome
13.00 – 16.00 Semi-Final Ice Dome
16.30 Results Competition Office
17.00 Starting List Final Competition Office
Lead Final Women:
When: What: Where:
16.00 Isolation Zone open Isolation Tent
16.15 Isolation Zone closed Isolation Tent
17.15 – 17.30 Route Preview Ice Dome
17.45 – 19.15 Final Ice Dome
19.45 Results Competition Office
Lead Final Men:
When: What: Where:
19.15 Isolation Zone open Isolation Tent
19.30 Isolation Zone closed Isolation Tent
20.30 – 20.45 Route Preview Ice Dome
21.00 – 22.15 Final Ice Dome
22.30 Results Competition Office
Medal Ceremony for Women & Men:
When: What: Where:
22.30 -23.00 Podium Ceremony Ice Dome

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