NEWS

Belhaj and Barber repeat Cobra Crack 8c (b+)
Logan Barber and Said Belhaj have repeated Sonnie Trotter's Cobra Crack 8c ( b+) trad in Squamish. Logan needed well over 100 sessions meanwhile Said did it in just eight days. Nathaniel Vigeant has taken the picture where Said prepares the classic one finger mono undercling.

Climbing has made an interview with Adam Ondra who did not have trainer nor did he follow a program when when he was a teenager. He just climbed and he did not want to sacrifice anything. "I think many kids these days have climbing programs when theyโ€™re young. That adds pressure and takes away fun. I didnโ€™t have that; I just climbed with my feeling and fun and developed an approach. Itโ€™s much more important to develop the right climbing technique, which only happens when a kid is having fun. With more climbing more power will happen."

Sam Avezou wins through his Speed
Sam Avezou from France won the Combined Youth in a dramatic final climbing faster than Filip Schenk to their scoring 37+. If Filip, who started last, had controlled hold 38, he would have won. Sam is, among the ones performing in all three disciplines, the world's fastest Speed climber, 7.51 and a contender for a medal in Tokyo 2020. 1. Sam Avezou FRA 3 * 7 * 2 = 42 2. Filip Schenk ITA 15 * 1.5 * 3 = 67.5 3. Peter Ivanov BUL 6 * 3 * 4 = 72 Complete results It should be noted that in Youth A, the Top-20 from all disciplines competed as it was also a qualification for the Top-13 to the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina in 2018. In the Olympics, the Combined event will finish with a final with Top-6 from the semifinal. (c) Eddie Fowke.

Second Combined gold for Austria
Sandra Lettner won the Youth A category ahead of Ashima Shirashi who for the first time in a Youth comp did not stand on the top of the podium. Sandra has not yet competed in the World Cup but she has won the European Youth Cup in 2017 in both Lead and Boulder. 1. Sandra Lettner AUT 10 * 1 * 4 = 40 (S * B * L) 2. Ashima Shiraishi USA 13 * 4 * 1 = 52 3. Brooke Raboutou USA 9 * 3 * 5 = 135 Complete results - (c) Eddie Fowke.

1 033 pullups in 60 min by FA hero Jan Kares
jan kares (43) has done another pullup world record, 583 reps in 30 minutes. Previously he has been a record holder for 30 min (236 reps), 6, 12 and 24 hours etc. New World Record today - 1 033 pullups in 60 min In 1998, he was #17 in a Lead World Cup but nowadays he is a bolting and onsighting fanatic. Since 2008, Jan has spent some 180 days bolting, paying for everything by himself, in Sardinia. That is what he does for all his vacations. His dream is that this area, close to Cala Gonone, will be one of the best and most famous climbing areas in Europe. The 42 year old has up until now done some 250 routes and he thinks it is possible to make 1 000. He will create a topo through Vertical-Life soon.

1. Semen Ovchinnikov RUS 2 * 2 * 3 = 12 (S * B * L) 2. Rei Kawamata JPN 3 * 1 * 6 = 18 3. Hidimassa Nishida JPN 6 * 4 * 1 = 24 Complete results Semen Ovchinnikov from Russia is the Combined winner in the Youth B after stellar performance in all three disciplines. The Japanese athletes got the three next positions. Interesting is that in the Boulder event, the worst results was four tops in six tries. Pictures and full report at Austria Climbing

In Lead and Boulder, the Japanese Youth B girls got all six medals and in the Combined event they did it again. The final finished by Natsuki and Ai topping out as they also did in the Lead final. 1. Tani Natsuki JPN 1 * 2 * 1.5 = 4.5 2. Mori Ai JPN 5 * 1 * 1.5 = 7.5 3. Ito Futaba JPN 2 * 3 * 3 = 18 Complete results Pictures and full report at Austria Climbing

Alex Khazanov has done Practice of the wild 8C (B+) in Magic Wood and goes to #7 in the ranking game. "One of my biggest struggles on a boulder. From almost doing it, to extending my trip and failing miserably 30 times on the upper crux shoulder move, I thinnly managed to keep it together and top one of my hardest and favorite boulders! 8B+ or 8C? I seriously dont know, and frankly, I dont care that much. I just know it was hard."