15 July 2023
Vita Lukan and Sorato Anraku win in Briancon
Sorato Anraku, 16, created the perfect ending of the menโs final in Briancon, starting last and being the first to top out. Earlier this year the youngster from Japan became the overall Boulder World Cup winner. With only two Lead events remaining, he is ahead with almost 700 points meaning that if he gets a podium in one of them, the 16-year-old will most likely be the first climber winning both disciplines overall in the same year. Tasei Homma was runner up and Satone Yoshida won the bronze. As in both the qualification and semi, Japan took the first six positions also in the final. (c) Complete results
Talking with 8a in Brixen last month, Sorato said he mainly trains alone or with some locals from Chiba, 1.5 hours from Tokyo. Most of his training consists of bouldering or doing circuits and sometimes also some hangboarding. He does not follow any strict training plan. A couple of times a month he travels to Tokyo to train with guys from the national team.
The women's field was won by Luka Vitan, from Slovenia, who secured her first ever World Cup victory. Eliska Adamovska from the Czech Republic, who won in Briancon in 2021, placed second and the third was Manon Hily in front of her home crowd. Complete results (c) Jan Virt/IFSC
ANRAKU: โIโm surprised to win. I love doing both Boulder and Lead and I want to win more medals. I really want to win the World Championships as well. Koper World Cup. Wujiang World Cup. I practice a lot and I want to win them all.โ
LUKAN: โItโs amazing. Iโm speechless. I did not expect it. I donโt know what happened. I just climbed and enjoyed the route, I fought hard, I give it my all and Iโm really surprised. Iโm just happy.
"It was a really tough season. I injured my knee in January and then again in February and I didnโt climb from then until the middle of April. I had an ACL tear and a meniscus tear so I went through surgery where they removed half of the meniscus. The season has been tough for me, the victory is unexpected, but it means a lot to me.โ
Talking with 8a in Brixen last month, Sorato said he mainly trains alone or with some locals from Chiba, 1.5 hours from Tokyo. Most of his training consists of bouldering or doing circuits and sometimes also some hangboarding. He does not follow any strict training plan. A couple of times a month he travels to Tokyo to train with guys from the national team.
The women's field was won by Luka Vitan, from Slovenia, who secured her first ever World Cup victory. Eliska Adamovska from the Czech Republic, who won in Briancon in 2021, placed second and the third was Manon Hily in front of her home crowd. Complete results (c) Jan Virt/IFSC
ANRAKU: โIโm surprised to win. I love doing both Boulder and Lead and I want to win more medals. I really want to win the World Championships as well. Koper World Cup. Wujiang World Cup. I practice a lot and I want to win them all.โ
LUKAN: โItโs amazing. Iโm speechless. I did not expect it. I donโt know what happened. I just climbed and enjoyed the route, I fought hard, I give it my all and Iโm really surprised. Iโm just happy.
"It was a really tough season. I injured my knee in January and then again in February and I didnโt climb from then until the middle of April. I had an ACL tear and a meniscus tear so I went through surgery where they removed half of the meniscus. The season has been tough for me, the victory is unexpected, but it means a lot to me.โ
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