Slovenia claimed two gold medals in the oldest girls' categories, while Japan secured both golds among the boys. The standout performer was Jennifer Eucharia Buckley, who climbed the highest on all four routes. "I feel good. I’m really happy. I came here with a goal, and it was to win. I’m proud I managed the pressure, especially knowing I had the potential to win. I trained smart, I trained hard, and it all came together as I hoped."

Kurashita Manato was tied #1 in both the qualification and semifinal rounds before winning the final. Notably, in the Youth A category, all Top 5 finishers were from Asia. Complete results © Richard Aspland/IFSC

Rosa Rekar: “I’m super happy. I didn’t expect it at all. I trained super hard for it, so everything paid off. I’m also really happy about my climbing that I was able to stay focussed even though I was a little bit nervous. I gave it my all and I’m happy.”

Sugimoto Yusuke: “It’s unbelievable. My goal in this competition was to get a medal, and I’m really happy it was the gold. I can’t really find the words, I’m just really happy.”

Diego Cameroni, younger brother to Giuliano, has been three weeks in Rocklands where he managed to flash Hipster Whale (8B) and Moon shadow (8B). In total, the 22-year-old who had 8A as his flash personal best prior to Rocklands, flashed six boulders 8A and beyond.

Can you tell us more about your trip and how you were able to raise your flash game?
For the first Rocklands trip my idea was to try many different good boulder problems in the font 8 grade, not focusing on projecting something very hard that can take multiple sessions with the possibility of a failure.

After one week of our 3 weeks trip I got sick and could not climb hard for 5 days. However, it turned out that this had one positive aspect: after recovery my skin was really good! In the last part of our stay I was able to do the hardest ascents of the trip, many of them in my flash attempt.

The flash game has never been a central part of my climbing. The reason is that over the last years my climbing days were mostly based on discovering and projecting problems as well as developing new sectors: I like those things a lot.

Visiting a new place was of course something special and gave me the possibility to give a proper flash attempt to almost every boulder I wanted to try. This by collecting informations from the ground such as: video betas, touching holds, finding what I feel it is the right spot to grab holds and footholds. This way I felt able to try hard on the first attempt as if I already knew the boulder! Luckily many first attempts have been the good one.

Solveig Korherr, with 34 routes 8c to 9a under her belt, has completed One Piece (8c) in Frankenjura. (c) Stephan Vogt

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I didn’t go to the Frankenjura with a specific goal, nor did I think I would try something hard in summer conditions. I mainly came here to have a good time with friends. This send came as a bit of a surprise to me.

Since I’ve been trying to take it a bit easier before coming here, dealing with some shoulder pain, I also wanted to relieve some of the pressure I sometimes put on myself. I couldn’t really tell in what shape I was at the moment. With the heat, I was already struggling on 7c+‘s, so that wasn’t a good indicator of my current shape either.

„One piece“ was recommended to me, and I thought I’d check it out, perhaps for a future trip. Actually, I didn’t feel very good the two days I checked it out, and a send felt far away. On the third day, we were lucky to have some cooler and drier conditions, which definitely was a game changer. After a promising second attempt and adjusting my beta, I could send it on the third try.

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Alex Megos reports on Instagram that after a disappointing performance at the Olympics, he traveled to Flatanger and in just five sessions he was able to complete Adam Ondra's Change (9b+). "I used one kneepad on my right knee, which does make the crux of the first pitch a little easier than the original beta from @adam.ondra. The top doesn't change too much with a kneepad, when you have really bad kneebar skills like mine. The rests feel more comfortable though."

The German has previously done the FAs of Perfecto Mundo (9b+) and Bibliographie (9b+), besides being the first to onsight 9a, Estado Critico in 2012.

Great to see that all the hard Olympic training paid off. How was the process and how long time took the ascent?
I was definitely in good shape after the training for the Olympics. I could feel that. Unfortunately I couldn't show it at the comp...

The process was simple. We arrived to Norway on Thursday and on the afternoon I did Purgatory (9a) in Hell. On Friday and Saturday I started working on Change. Sunday we went bouldering and I flashed an 8A and did an 8A+. Monday and Tuesday I worked on Change again. Wednesday was rest day and Thursday was sending day.

The ascent took something between 45min and one hour and I was super nervous all the way up. I hadn't done either of the parts separately, so I wasn't super confident in all sections yet. I think I'll have a look at some more routes in the cave. A lot has changed since I was here 9 years ago.

From 29 August to 1 September, Serra San Quirico, in the Marche region of Italy, will host the 10th edition of the Frasassi Climbing Festival, an international event dedicated to climbing and outdoor activities in one of the most evocative environments in Italy: the Gola della Rossa e di Frasassi Regional Natural Park.

Every year, the Frasassi Climbing Festival (FCF) appeals to more and more climbers and mountain enthusiasts of all ages and nationalities for an unparalleled experience. The focus of the event is obviously on sport climbing with various activities planned for all levels, including the Street Boulder Contest, inside the splendid medieval village of Serra San Quirico, the Frasassi Challenge, a prize-winning climbing marathon on 8 selected crags in the Park, and the FCF Lab, dedicated to all those who want to acquire more climbing skills and safety. But that's not all: calisthenics, slackline, yoga and acroyoga workshops will allow participants to work on flexibility, balance and performance, which are fundamental for climbing. Moreover, in collaboration with the Park Guides and the CAI of Jesi, trekking, mountain bike excursions and speleological visits will be organised to discover the Gola della Rossa and Frasassi territory. Among the novelties 2024 the Biodiverse Experience, organised with 3Bee, will lead you to discover the biodiversity of the Park's flora.

Several evening events will enrich the festival: Frasassi Talk with Elias Iagnemma, La Sportiva athlete and first Italian to climb Burden of Dreams, the first 9a boulder in the world; Zofia Reych, author of ‘Born to Climb: From Rock Climbing Pioneers to Olympic Athletes’ and founder of the Womens' Bouldering Festival in Fontainebleau; Samuele Mazzolini and Francesco Piacenza who will present “Dolomiti King Line”, a Versante Sud guidebook dedicated to high-level trad and sport routes in the Dolomites. Furthermore, in collaboration with Reel Rock and Reel Rock Italia, there will be a film screening of the film ‘Resistance Climbing’, a testimony of how climbing can bring meaning to those living in war and occupation, such as the inhabitants of the West Bank in Palestine. For the occasion, the FCF made a donation to UNICEF Italy, which works in Palestine to support children victims of war, and opened a fundraising campaign during the days of the festival.

Finally, the DJ Set will close each day in beauty: Miryam Magnoni, Dejandj and a.j.over with Climbing Radio will take turns to make us dance and have fun until late at night! Are climbing and the outdoors your passion? The Frasassi Climbing Festival is waiting for you! For all info on the programme, where to stay and how to reach us: www.frasassiclimbingfestival.it

Ainhize Belar Barrutia, who was #4 in her last Euro Youth Cup, has onsighted Txirrin txirran (8b+) and redpointed Bongo X in Egino, La Leze. The 18-year-old, who onsighted her first 8a at age 14, is #2 in the female ranking game.

Can you tell us more about those two ascents?
Well, I chained Bongo X and the truth is that I was not sure what to do. I looked at ‘txirrin txirran’ which looked like an amazing line and decided to try it. The idea was to look at it a bit to try to do it the next day, but as there is only one attempt onsight, I went with everything. I felt very good climbing and was very focused on task goals (without giving importance to the result), so little by little I managed to clip the chain on this 8b+.

Karoline Sinnhuber has done Idée fixe (8c) in La Saume. "Finally some wind and fresh condis… ahhhhh. What a line, great climb. Happy that I kept my shit together for the top part 🤪 it‘s not over, till it‘s over!"

The 29-year-old finished her World Cup competition career in 2018 by being #8 in Munich. Later her focus has been outdoors and in total she has done 55 boulders 8A+ or 8B. She has also done nine routes 8b+ or 8c, out of which, six in the last 15 months. (c) Fabian Leu

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Idée fixe consists basically of 2 boulders. The second one is the same like, Saume thing more (8b) I already did last year. Unfortunately, it didn‘t feel easier this year 😅 The first boulder is quite long, starting with a tricky heel hook section, a nasty drop knee for the clip and then a hard shoulder move far to the right and then you have to catch a little crimp with the left hand. I was struggling a lot with warm conditions, no wind and/or bad skin. Super lucky it was really cold on one day - so I took this opportunity 😉

Are you starting to shift focus to route climbing?
My focus is still on bouldering, I just concentrate on a harder boulder in my area which needs kind a lot of sessions 🤪 and some better conditions than summer has to offer. So during summer my‚ boulder career‘ is mostly on ice and you can find me on the rope somewhere. I hope autumn and winter treat me well and I can tick off a few boulders 🙂

The Youth World Championship will take place in Guiyang from 22 - 31 August. In total, 599 teenagers from 49 countries will participate. Here you can follow the results.