Bouldering World Cup 2009: Fischhuber and Noguchi reign supreme

It would have been difficult to imagine a more exciting finish. During last weekend's 5th and final stage of the Bouldering World Cup in Eindhoven, Holland, all eyes were on the challenge between Rustam Gelmanov from Russia and Kilian Fischhuber from Austria. Or rather, between the new power and pure experience, between he who thirsted for his first ever victory and he who searched for confirmation for the 4th time. And as we'd announced, the competition was explosive and went right down to the wire, as after the qualification and the semifinal the race for final victory was still wide open. But let's take things one step at a a time.

110 athletes lined up for Friday's qualification, which proved to be "complicated" right from the outset. So much so that Jonas Baumann, the winner in Vail last weekend, failed to qualify. This mistake cost the young German plenty, since his chances of winning overall bronze were dashed. Frenchman Glairon Mondet, the other contender for this third place, suffered a similar fate in the Semis and was the first to be excluded from the Final. Gabriele Moroni from Italy suddenly saw an unexpected glimmer of hope for bronze but the road to get there was by no means easy... He had to keep his nerves and produce the "competition of his life". And this is exactly what he did!

Those who qualified for the final were, with 4 tops and separated only by the number of attempts needed: Gelmanov, Moroni, Klemen Becan from Slovenia and Fischhuber, followed by the untiring Frenchman Stephane Julien and, somewhat surprisingly, Edward Feehally from England, both with three tops. As often happens, the provisional results were upturned in the final and Gelmanov slipped to fourth place while Fischhuber found just the right form when it was really needed. After an initial struggle he was the only athlete send all four problems, proving for the 4th time that he really is the undisputed king of bouldering. Gelmanov send 2 tops in 4 attempts and had to "make do" with silver. And Gabriele Moroni?

For the young Italian one could describe his Dutch duel as "mission accomplished". With 2 tops in 2 attempts he won silver in Eindhoven but also, above all, bronze in the Bouldering World Cup 2009. What seemed highly unlikely at the outset turned into reality, and the Italian team hasn't celebrated such a success since Christian Core won in 1999 and Mauro Calibani placed second in 2001. For the record, Stephane Julien sent 2 tops in 2 attempts as well, but was separated from Moroni by his inferior Semifinal result. Klemen Becan palced fifth and Edward Feehally sixth, both with just one top.

If the men's competition went right down to the wire, the same cannot be said for the women's event. Victory, as expected, went to Akiyo Noghuchi from Japan, but there was always the hope that Austrian Anna St¨hr would produce a small miracle. Things couyldn't have turned out differently, as Stöhr produced her worst result to date, placing 10th (and not qualifying for hte final therefore) and leaving ample room for her Japanese rival. Akiyo Noguchi deservedly won the Cup with an impressive run - Kazo 1st, Hall 1st, Vienna 2nd, Vail 3rd, Eindhoven 1st - while Stöhr won silver and Natalija Gros bronze. The Slovenian athlete climbed well in Holland and risked winning the event with three tops just like Noguchi, but in the end she was punished for one attempt more. The Eindhoven podium was completed by Olga Shalagina, the Ukrainan who in 2005 won the Bouldering World Championship. Talking of which: all eyes are now fixed to the World Championship in Qinghai, China, from 30 June to 5 July...

Results Eindhoven
Men
1. Fischhuber Kilian AUT
2. Moroni Gabriele ITA
3. Julien Stephane FRA

Women
1. Noguchi Akiyo JPN
2. Gros Natalija SLO
3. Shalagina Olga UKR

Fianl results Bouldering World Cup 2009
Men
1. Fischhuber Kilian AUT 337.50
2. Gelmanov Rustam RUS 296.50
3. Moroni Gabriele ITA 230.50

Women
1. Noguchi Akiyo JPN 435.00
2. Stöhr Anna AUT 309.00
3. Gros Natalija SLO 238.50
complete results