13 August 2015
Chon Jongwon leads before last event in Munich
Eddie Fowke has followed the World Cup in last two years and he runs The Circuit Climbing Magazine. Here are his thoughts before the last boulder event in Munich.
"In a couple Of days we see the end of the 2015 IFSC Boulder World Cup season and what a strange, topsy turvy season it has been. One of the standout features of this season is that from the first round there have been few clear favorites for overall victory. In both the Menยs and Womenยs fields we have had a different winner in each round, with first time victors like Alban Levier, Megan Mascarenas, Chon Jongwon and Petra Klingler mixing it with established stars like Anna Stรถhr, Jan Hojer, Akiyo Noguchi and Sean McColl.
Heading into the final round of the series in Munich only one World Cup Champion is assured her place with Akiyo having already gained enough points to be secure in first place in the Womenยs field. In the Menยs however itยs all to play for with no less than 5 climbers in with a realistic chance of taking victory. Of these 5, only 3 have won this year with the others being rewarded for consistency and strong showings throughout the season.
Who out of Chon Jongwon, Jan Hojer, Alban Levier, Adam Ondra or Nathaniel Coleman will walk away as series victor in Munich? That is the question.
Looking at the setters and the style we saw in last yearยs World Championships itยs going to be tight picking a favorite. Indeed the whole series could come down to Fridayยs qualification round with well over 100 male athletes vying for the 20 available spots in semis. An underset round which becomes a flashfest will favor the qualifying experts like Alban and Chon while putting pressure on the likes of Jan and Adam who really start to shine when the problems get tough. Add to the mix a huge number of talented climbers who could act as spoilers (Rustam, Dmitrii, Alexey, Jernej, Kokoro, Tsukuru, Rei, Makoto, Jeremy, GuiGui, Ty, Alfons, Jason, Michael, Gabrieleย
Just to name a few) and you will wish that Fridayยs qualifying round was broadcast!
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