The U-19 girls' final at the Youth World Championship in Arco produced an exceptionally close contest, with four athletes scoring 34+. Anika Deubler claimed the world title after winning the semifinal and the qualifications, securing gold on countback.

Chanjin Jung, who also won the youth world championship in 2025, was the only climber to top the semifinal route, then went on to finish three holds ahead of the runner-up in the U-19 final.

Adam Ondra, with four 8C flashes to his name, has had three incredible hours in Val Daone flashing Skiantos (8B), Verdena (8B), Fuori Tempo (8B), Il trono (8B) and Sky dive (8A+). In the ranking game he is number three but only counting flashes, the 32-year-old is totally superior.

Ondra logs all 8B’s with five stars and comments on Instagram, ”All the climbs are amazing, and Il Trono is really a true kingline 😮 It is even better than in the video, it climbs less weirdly than it looks, and it is less knee-intensive than it looks. An absolute masterpiece by @valdo_chilese 👌”.

Pepa Šindel, who the last year has sent ten routes graded 9a to 9b, has done Affinità elettive (9a+) in Capanna Bill. ”Beautiful! Great vision by Andrea Milani! 60 meters of pure endurance. Gladly didn’t drop the last pitch 🙏😭 Maybe soft?”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and how much effort it took?
The route starts with a Frankenjura-style 8b/8b+ pitch on pockets, then joins into a power-endurance 8c+ and keep pushing higher… all the way into the final 9a pitch, 55 metres above the ground! 🤯

My first tries on this route took around 90 minutes each before I figured everything out. Václav Šindel thanks bro, for all the patience. 😵‍💫🙏 At first, I thought I had no chance of linking everything together because the amount of endurance it takes is insane, even though there are good rests in between. Even thought the last 3rd pitch is on its on max 8b more like 8a+ with a really good rest after the second pitch its still super hard, because after just 3 moves you instantly get pumped everything that you just rested:)

I was also super lucky 🍀 on my send go because literally a minute after I clipped the chains, the rain started pouring down, and the route was completely wet within seconds! Somehow, I also never fell on the last pitch. 🙏 On the send go, I spent 45 minutes on the wall.

In the end, everything came together much quicker than I expected, and I managed to send it on my 3rd day, 6th go!

What is next?
Right now I am trying Adam Ondra’s new 9a+ called The Big Twin. So far I spend 1 day on it. And I really like it:)

Caleb Franchere has in July flashed six boulders 8A and beyond in Rocklands including Moon shadow (8B).

Can you tell us more about your flash focus, the most memorable ones and your beta preparation?
Coming into the trip it was a goal of mine to flash 8B, as well as give absolutely everything I hopped on a good flash burn. It’s been really fun to work on my execution!

I’d say definitely Moon shadow and Shosholoza are the ones I’m most stoked about, Moon shadow for being my first 8B flash and Shosholoza for being one of the first Rocklands climbs I’d ever saw.

The only preparation I’ve been doing is studying up on different videos of the climb beforehand, especially scoping beta from climbers similar in size to me.

What is the next plan?
I’m very close to Speed of Sound (8B+) and Mooiste Meisie (8B) so I’ll be spending this last week focused on those

Alex Megos has flashed Ryan Sklenica’s Baby Cakes (9a) in Nowra, which is a link-up of Cheesecake (9a) into Little Baby Cheeses (9a). ”Fitness climbing through the roof.” (c) Talia Suh
The 32-year-old German climber has three 9b+ ascents to his name, along with one 9a onsight and two 9a flashes. He has also enjoyed an outstanding competition career, earning ten World Cup podium finishes and three World Championship medals.

Can you tell us more about the beta preparation?
It was definitely a very dry day for Nowra. Apparently it can be quite wet and seep a lot, but we were lucky. I watched a video the night before and got the holds explained by Ryan and Gorge. Then on the morning of the flash they both went up on the route and Ryan showed me the first half and Gorge showed me the second half. I set off and pretty much executed everything very well 🙏🏼

France's Oriane Bertone, last year's World Cup winner, is the new European Bouldering Champion. France dominated the competition, placing three climbers in the top four. Their strength was even more evident in the semifinals, where they claimed the top three positions, with Bertone finishing first. More info to come.

Maximillian Milne struck gold in Barcelona, improving on the European Boulder Championship silver he claimed two years ago. The 25-year-old Brit has also previously finished runner-up at a World Cup.

Samuel Richard placed third with two tops, while Hannes Van Duysen took silver despite topping just one boulder. More information to follow.

Sergio San Martín Fernandez, who started climbing in 2020 at age 18, has completed Las meninas R2 (9a+) in Rodellar. Between the ages of 9 and 18, he did breakdancing. During the last year before he started climbing, he also practiced calisthenics.

” A dream come true: my first 9a+! 🥹 A super long, incredibly pumpy route, and in a season that, if you ask me, is way hotter than it should be. The first pitch is 9a+, and I guess the second is around 8c? I'm not really sure, but I absolutely loved climbing it. Thanks to everyone who has been there supporting me. Now it's time for more—there's still plenty of summer left! 🥹🍳⛱️”

Can you tell us more about the trip and sending your first 9a+?
What I had been wondering for a while was whether I was ready to make the jump to the next level after climbing 9a, especially since there aren't many routes in the ninth grade around Alicante. So I knew my main goal for this trip to Rodellar was to give it a serious try. I started by attempting Meninas Sixtina (8c), a pure endurance route that suited me really well. I managed to send it on my second day of the trip.

The following week, I dedicated myself to working on Las meninas (9a), especially its crux: a highly pumpy endurance section with very technical knee-bar rests. I was lucky to figure it out fairly quickly, and that's when I realized I actually had a chance. Everything came down to the final pitch—an incredibly technical 8c.

In total, it's about 50 meters of climbing. With the heat we've had these past few days, it was a real sufferfest, but in the end I managed to send this absolute 10/10 route after just three weeks. I definitely paid the price, though—I could barely walk afterward from all the knee-bars I had to jam into that roof.

It was a grade I'd been chasing for a long time, and finally achieving it has given me a lot of confidence to take on even bigger goals.

What is next?
I’m going to start trying La Vie (9b) without pressure. But I feel it will be a more ambitious project.

Ajda Remškar, the Slovenian team manager in the current Youth World’s in Arco, has sent Kingslayer (8c) in Ter. The five star line was bolted by Rajko Zajc and then Klemen Novac did the FA of in 2018.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
This one was a big challenge for me— a series of mini cruxes that kept me at my full span and required some creative solutions for the powerful and dynamic sequences. An absolutely phenomenal route.

Attempting it during a heat wave felt silly, but the send go came as a rare moment of calm during a pretty turbulent period so it felt really satisfying to finish it off.