Viktoriia Meshkova got her second gold by winning Lead ahead of Eliska Adamovska, being the faster climber touching the final jug. Both had previously topped all three routes. Amazingly, Viktoriia did 18 IFSC World Cups last year and her best result was #16! Molly Thompson-Smith got the bronze. It should be mentioned that Chloe Caulier, who was second in Boulder, topped both qually routes but did not show up for the semi. Most probably she retired due to saving her skin and muscles from the Combined Olympic quest starting on Friday. (c) Nikita Tsarev

Among the male, Sacha Lehmann got the Euro title seeming quite in control the whole way. Runner-up was Nicolas Collins who put up the biggest fighting show in the final. First, he chose to land with just one hand on the big sideways double dyno. Later he started to fight harder than the others and in the end, he was screaming like Adam Ondra for several moves. Noteworthy is that the Belgian is the only male athlete who has participated in all three finals and he showed his fingers for the camera and it will be interesting to see if he can get the skin back until Friday. Third was Dmitrii Fakirianov.

It must be said that overall it was a good show and on the live-screaming, we could follow the results in a bar hold by hold. Overall, the route setters and the organizers have done a great job in Moscow.

Viktoria Meshkova won five out of six rounds getting the Lead and Boulder golds in the European Championship in Moscow. This must be one of the biggest sensations in the climbing history as her previous best was #16 out of eleven Lead and Boulder WC's last year. Add to that the quarantine this spring meant just training at her apartment for two months and that she got Covid-19 one month ago. In total, she could just do five sessions in the climbing gym prior to the Euro Championship. (c) Nikita Tsarev

Dmitry Sharafutdinov, the Russian training coach who has won three World Championships and who is famous for mainly done pull-ups as his training regime, says that probably hard physical training 20+ hours a week in her apartment during the two months lockdown is the best explanation.

"The secret of her success is probably the spring lockdown. Everyone was at home. Communication only online. I wrote a training program. At home, Vika performed an enormous amount of physical training. Like me in my best years. 5 times a week, for 4-5 hours. (But the exercises are a secret.) Fingerboard was done regularly. But that was not the main one. Rather, the emphasis was on training large muscles. We used a little bit of everything. But no matter how strange it may sound, I took a lot from figure skating and alpine skiing. Not much with weights, mostly with her own weight.

A month ago, a test for coronavirus gave a positive result and she isolated herself. The disease was mild. She was under the supervision of a doctor of the Russian national command team. As soon as the symptoms went away she began training. Online first, and after negative tests five times at the climbing gym. It's hard for me to say now what played a decisive role. Perhaps rested."

Jernej Kruder from Slovenia, who two days ago become the Bouldering Euro Champion, started up the Combined qualification by possible setting a new PB in Speed with 7.51 which made him surprisingly #8. But then he scored just 34 in Boulder which put him as #13. Now the Slovenian needs the best Lead performance of his life getting at least Top-4 in order to make it to the final. William Bosi is #1 with 10.5 points just ahead of one of the favourites, Sergei Luzhetski at 12 points.

The Speed specialist making it to the final, and most probably will be #4 or #5 there, is Marcin Dzienski who actually made two bonuses. Interesting is that Speed specialist and favourite was just fourth in his best discipline and was possibly the first Speed specialist who made a top in an IFSC Championship. As a matter of a fact, he actually also touched the last hold on one boulder confirming that the boulders were way too easy. In total, ten male topped all four boulders. Based on the complete results, one can speculate that max 380 points are needed in order to make it into the Top-8 final.

Among the female, the double gold winner Viktoria Meshkova, started out excellent in Speed with 9.40 and fifth place where Patrycja Chudziak won, which most certainly will make her #4 or #5 overall. Then in bouldering, Meshkova was just #6 at 34 behind six girls doing all four including Stasa Gejo, Mannah Meul and Eliska Adamovska, who onsighted them all. Based on the complete results, one can speculate that max 380 points are max making it into the Top-8 final.

Nicolas Milburn, who previously has done two 9a's, has done his second 8C, Southern drawl in Chattanooga. "Definitely my hardest boulder to date! I put about 25 days of work into this thing, but despite all the sessions, it does just feel like another boulder. It's odd to put so much of my soul into a piece of rock in the forest, but I take pleasure from this kind of pursuit. It has been really exciting to mark my progress on this specific boulder. I have been feeling really strong lately, but until now I wasn't really sure where I was at. Now I feel confident I have improved as a climber."

Based on the male qualification, Sergei Luzhetskii is the new favourite, on paper, getting the ticket to Tokyo. His Combined score is 3 - 2 - 21 meaning he is the first-ever Combined athlete performing on a high level in both Speed and Boulder, beside Tomoa Narasaki. Amazingly, he was on an average #67 in the last seven Boulder WCs. Theoretically, he will be #2 in Speed and if he repeats his runner-up position behind Jernej Kruder in Bouldering, he will most likely make it to Tokyo. The head coach of Russia, Dima Sharafutdinov comments, "He was always strong, but injuries prevented. He's finally healthy! Here is the result!"

Noteworthy is also that Sergei was #17 in the Lead qualification but did not show up in semi, meaning that he has gotten one more rest day than the others. Also, Aleksei Rubtsov did not start in the semi so he should be considered a challenger for getting to Tokyo together with Jernej Kruder and Sascha Lehmann. The currently #1 ranked is Nicolas Collin but as he has done all three finals, he should suffer from bad skin and fatigue, meaning he would have to once again make a fight for his life high up there close to the Tops. It needs to be mentioned that there is a "risk" that the bronze will go to the Speed specialists Danyil Boldyrev although he is dead last in Lead or Boulder, if just the other results go his way. Male Combined results.

Viktoria Meshkova is, based on the Combined results, the big favourite as she actually also is a good Speed climber. However, as she probably should be a bit tired and have bad skin, after having done all finals, Chloe Caulier should be a strong contender. Caulier pulled out from the semi, after having won the qualification, mainly due to a knee problem but also in order be in better shape on Friday. The best chances for the bronze should the Kalucka sisters, Aleksandra and Natalia. As the two Speed specialists, both will make it to the Top-8, Stasa Gejo will not benefit to the fullest, of being a relatively very good Speed climber, she most probably will need to win in Boulder in order to make it to Tokyo.

Chloe Pay, who this summer sent her first 8A+, has done her sixth 8A during 2020, May it be SDS, aka "Leave it be", in Snugglers notch. In the Teenager ranking game she is #2 in the world.

"This choss-pile was both my longest and most pathetic project. I started college three months ago and quickly realized I had little time to dedicate to climbing. I went from ticking off climb after climb over the summer to going nearly three months without any big sends. I had never been through this type of hiatus before and, as a result, my psych for the sport waivered.

When I went to college, I knew my time would be preoccupied with school work, but I did not account for the other changes that would limit my ability to climb. My summer climbing squad went their own ways and I was left to train with my new college friends and on my own. Sometimes, just getting to the gym was a challenge. If I wasn’t able to catch a ride, I had to find 90 minutes in my schedule for public transportation to and from the gym. In order to overcome the low psych, I tried to keep my goals in mind, like possible trips, projects, and my nemesis “Leave it Be.”

Over the past three months, during my weekend trips to Smuggs, I threw myself at this chossy mess. I would consistently get through the crux, only to punt off the top of the boulder. I was so consistently punty, my friends made a video compilation of my attempts and added some soothing background music: “Wells Fargo.” Every year, the Smuggs road closes around Halloween due to the winter weather and doesn’t open again until Spring. When I heard that the road had closed for the season, I was mildly heartbroken. My friends had no interest in hiking up the road, and I was left to conquer “Leave it Be” by myself.

Last weekend, I caught a ride with some friends and hiked up to the boulder. Recognizing that winter was well on its way, I knew I wouldn’t have many more opportunities to send. Although my hands and toes were completely numb, I was determined to stop fooling around and just send the climb. I stuck the right-hand throw to a jug, the move I always fell on, and I knew that my battle with this boulder was over. I am happy to say that I never have to hang from that boulder again, and can now focus my attention on bigger and better rocks."

Last out of the female was the big favourite, Viktoria Meshkova, who already had won two golds in Moscow. At the same time Nicolas Collin, who had won the Combined qualification, entered the scene and did probably know he had to top. While he was resting we did see some glimts of Meshkova climbing high enough. In the end, all the hard rounds took out the toll of Collin and Alex Khazanov was the lucky man on #8 spot running around and being interviewed in the streaming. In the picture Aleksei Rubtsov (c) Nikita Tsarev

Suddenly the live-streaming shows that Meshkova was just awarded 12 and being dead last she was out of the Top-8 and the cameraman showed Meshokva and her coach looking not pleased at all. For some reason, the commentator missed this drama and in few minutes later Meshkova was up at rank #4 in both the Lead and in overall.

The overall winner was Eliska Adamovska who was the only one topping out the excellent route, meaning she is now together with Chloe Caulier and Viktoria Meshkova the favourites to get the Olympic ticket.

Among the male, we did see three tops and most unlucky was Hannes Puman who lost his Olympic dream by being the slower climber. Yuval Shelma, #9 in the Lead even two days ago, was the big sensation winning the Combined Lead discipline ahead of Sacha Lehmann who together with Segei Luzhetski are the favourites to make it to Tokyo.

Noteworthy is that the Speed winner, Marcin Dzienski, was #7 overall meaning he has almost guaranteed himself #4 or #5 in the final. This shows how strange the multiplication format is and that not the best overall climbers are the highest-ranked. In Lead, he got to hold #8 but as he then could not clip the third quick draw he down climbed a move and checked with the belayer before he let go and landed on the mattress! Complete results

Laura Rogora is the perfect example showing that climbing is unique when it comes to gender equality. Based on her ten routes 8c+/9a and harder 2020, as well as two 8c+' 2nd, go and 8b+ onsight, she is actually a contender of being #2 in the world, together with Adam Ondra and Stefano Ghisolfi, behind Jorge Diaz-Rullo. We asked Laura for some comments of doing Ghisolfi's The Bow 9a+. (c) Pietro Bagnara

"It took me 6 days and 17 tries in total. On my second day on the route, I was able to climb it with one resting but the boulder is very strange and risky so I needed some time to make it from the ground. On the day before the send I got super close but then my hand slipped just before the end of the harder section. I was bleeding a lot from my fingers so I decided to stop and try again the day after and on Sunday on my first go I climbed to the top on my first try. I was sure to fall on the last boulder on the slab because of the blood on my finger but somehow I could get through the last crux and clip the chain."