British climber Toby Roberts pulled off a stunning upset at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Boulder World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria. Starting strong with a qualification score of 95.0, returning champion Sorato Anraku of Japan seemed poised for another gold medal. However, Roberts continued to climb steadily and overtook Anraku in the final standings.
Roberts’ impressive performance earned him a gold medal with a total of 69.8 points, while Anraku secured a silver with 69.6 points. Hannes Van Duysen of Belgium took home the bronze medal with 54.6 points. In an emotional post-competition interview, Roberts expressed his gratitude and said that being honest about feeling under pressure allowed him to refocus on why he loves competing.
The win marks a significant turnaround for Roberts, who had been struggling throughout his season until this event. With the Boulder events now complete, the competition shifts to lead climbing in Innsbruck, where all events can be live-streamed or viewed on demand on the official IFSC YouTube channel.
Source: https://www.si.com/onsi/adventure/latest-news/british-climber-defeats-ifsc-world-cup-champion-sorato-anraku