Colin Duffy, #3 8a Competition Climber in 2022, has the last week done one 8B, Breeding Puppies (8B+) in Secret Garden and The Phoenix (8B+) in Bear Lake Road. "Stoked to put this thing down in one sesh! Had to find some pretty funky beta due to my size but I'm psyched it all came together."

What is next and what about the 2023 comp season?
I will be going on a trip to Red rocks after Christmas so maybe I will have some good sends there! Once spring rolls around I will be back to the gym preparing for next years’ comps.

The 19-year-old was #7 in the Olympics but without having made a 0.005 seconds false start in Speed, he could have gotten the gold. In 2022, he was #8 overall in Lead and #6 in Boulder after having one event in each discipline.

Zach Wilson has done in Joe's Valley (UT). Video on his Insta. "Pegasus is the perfect boulder for my style. It’s been a dream climb of mine. I first did the stand-start back when I was 16 and then about 5 sessions focused on completing the full line."

Gio Placci has done the second repeat of Adam Ondra's Bombardino (9a+) in Arco. "In 4 days, maybe 9a/+ but almost impossible to grade. The beta for me and Stefano (Ghisolfi) is completely different from Adam’s one, it’s way easy 😅 . The route is 8b+ then really good rest and then a boulder with a really hard first move from a bad small crimp to a small two finger pocket."

How can you explain having done your first three 9a+' in just six weeks?
I think I’m growing a lot as a rock climber. I’m more focused on the small details and this help a lot. Anyway, I’m not actually climbing a lot outside (one day per week) I’m training for my trip to Spain.

What is the ambition for 2023, and what about the Olympics?
My goal for next year is the lead world cup and my dream is to make a final! Also, I want to try Erebor (9b) after the comp season. For the Olympic games, I think my level in boulder is too low to be qualified, so my plans are focused on 2028’s games

How often do you train and how do you train?
I train almost every day. Sometimes I rest to grow my skin. I do fingerboard, campus board, and physical preparation. I climb 5 days per week either in Arco or in Milano. I love training, I’m always the one who finishes the session the last 😅.

Here are 8a's top Competition Climbers of 2022, based on results in international Lead and Boulder competitions. This year, many of the most high profile comp climbers focused on one discipline, or did only a few selected events which kept them from making the cut. If you want to see who has been the best in Lead as well as in Boulder, have a look here overall World Cup results. (c) Daniel Gajda/IFSC

Female
Natalia Grossman -USA
Completely dominated Boulder, winning five events and being runner-up in the sixth. In Lead, she was #3 overall, and in the only Boulder & Lead WC the 21-year-old was #2.

Janja Garnbret - SLO
In Lead, she was in a league of her own, winning five WCs and in the remaining two she was runner-up. The 23-year-old also won both Lead and Boulder in the Euro Championships as well as the only Boulder WC she did.

Chaehyun Seo - KOR
Runner-up overall in Lead and #10 overall in Boulder. In the Asia Championship, the 19-year-old won in Lead and took the bronze in Boulder. In the first ever Boulder & Lead WC she was #3.

Elnaz Rekabi IRA
She was #4 in the Asia Boulder & Lead Championship. In the final, she climbed without her hijab, ostensibly in solidarity with protests in Iran, which began in September following the death of Masha Amini in the hands of the country's morality police. Her action made global headlines, and she received a heroine's welcome upon returning to Tehran; but currently her safety and whereabouts, let alone her ability to compete again, are unclear. This was the only competition the bronze medalist in the 2021 Combined World Championships competed in, in 2022.

Male
Yoshiyuki Ogata - JPN
Winning the Overall Boulder World Cup comfortably after making the podium five times out of six. In Lead, the 24-year-old was #9 overall. In the World Games, he was #3 and in the Asia Championship, he earned three silvers.

Yannick Flohé - GER
The German was #4 overall in Boulder and #5 in Lead.

Colin Duffy - USA
The American was #8 overall in Lead and #6 in Boulder after having one event in each discipline.

Cathy Wagner has done Inter pas tactique (8a) (on her 2nd go and calling it 7c+), La de enmedio de los Chichos (8a) and El arte de la alegria (8a+) (calling it 8a). In total, the 57-year-old has logged 866 routes 8a to 8b and without all her personal grading, she would be close to 900, which most likely is a record for female climbing.

Chaehyun Seo sent La Rambla (9a+) in Siurana after trying it for only five days. In 2019, at age 15, she won four straight World Cups.

Drew Ruana reports on Insta that he has done the FA of Bookkeeping 8C+ in the Nomad cave. It is a 30 move roof link-up of an 8A, into an 8B+, into an 8A+. In the video description Drew says that it can be made a solid 9A with another finish, and by doing an alternative 8B+ start. (c) Nick Bradley

In 2019, he was #8 in the World Championships. After he failed to make it to the Olympics, the 23-year-old and full-time chemical engineering university student, has evolved to be one of the best boulderers in the world. In total, he has done close to 90 boulders 8B+ and harder including five 8C+. Here is an 8a interview from last year.

Simon Lorenzi who just did his second 9A, has published some interesting thoughts on Facebook which could describe how he works with mental training. (c) Gilles Charlier

"Obsession: this is the word that represents best a hard climb for me. The day before sending Alphane I couldn't sleep before 3am because I was thinking about what I could do better than the previous session where I fell in the easy traverse at the end. During the night I started to be convinced that I'll send the next session because I knew exactly what went wrong last time. During hours I thought of what could be the best warm up to not be flash pumped at the end and I visualized the send go again and again with every feeling and every holds of the boulder before falling asleep.

The next day I woke up confident and ready to do what I have to do. During my first try something not planned happened and I opened my index. Depressed, no chance to send it with tape and I know I needed 3 days for my skin to heal. Obsession pushed me to try a last taping technique before leaving. From the ground it seems to be ok so I go for a last try without conviction. What a surprise when 3 min later I was standing on the top. The contrast of the situation was so big and went so fast that it took me a bit of time to realize what just happened! Everything doesn't need to be always perfect you just need to climb relaxed."