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The third and final day of the IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Villars, Switzerland, saw 26 men and 26 women climb for a finals place and a chance for a Lead World Cup medal.

Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret was the standout performer as the only climber, man or woman, to make the top. And while all other climbers around her struggled to make progress, Garnbret found the route somewhat easier.

“Today I felt good,” said Garnbret. “Even though the route was not that hard I enjoyed climbing. I hope we get another route like this in the final.”

The nearest competition to the Olympic champion came from Seo Chaehyun of South Korea who made hold 35+. American Brooke Raboutou was just behind Seo on hold 35 and will be joined by compatriot Natalia Grossman in the final eight.

Nakagawa Ryu and Tanii Natsuki of Japan, Laura Rogoro of Italy, and Manon Hily of France complete the lineup.

For the women’s Lead semifinals full results click here.

Jesse Grupper of the USA continues to show his good form making the final in first position, but was given a rare yellow card for continuing to climb after his six-minute time limit was up. It was an American one-two as Colin Duffy joins his teammate in the finals.

There’s a strong Japanese presence as four climbers make the eight: Yoshida Satone, Ogata Yoshiyuki, and Homma Taisei are joined by the qualification’s leader Yurikusa Ao.

Yurikusa said, “I am climbing well but that was not my favourite route. It was very stressful. I hope the route suits me better in the final, and all I can do is my best.”

Yannick Flohé of Germany and Mejdi Schalck of France will look to break up the USA-Japan final domination.

For the men’s Lead semifinals full results click here.

The top eight men will compete first in the finals at 8.00 PM (UTC+2:00) before the women bring the event to a close.

News and updates about the event will also be available on the IFSC website, and on the Federation’s social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.