Established champions, home favourites, and international debutants all celebrated victories as the World Climbing Para Series Innsbruck 2026 came to a close in Austria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A total of 17 nations earned medals in Innsbruck, highlighting the growing depth of international Para Climbing. The USA topped the medal table with six golds, followed by Austria, France, and Japan with three each, while Hungary, Italy, Norway, and Spain each celebrated one victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The USA claimed three of its six gold medals in Innsbruck through Melissa Ruiz in women\u2019s Lead RP1, Brayden Butler in men\u2019s Lead RP2, and Nat Vorel in women\u2019s Lead RP3. Austria celebrated another victory thanks to Jasmin Plank in women\u2019s Lead RP2, while Norway\u2019s Kim Rishaug won men\u2019s Lead RP1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men\u2019s Lead RP3 event saw another international debutant reach the top step of the podium as Antoine Keodara of France secured gold in his first-ever international competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe competition was incredible,\u201d said Keodara. \u201cIt was my first international competition, but I\u2019ve climbed for more than 15 years. This was the first competition where I could compete with people who have the same impairment as me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe routes were very fun to climb. There were a lot of incredible holds. I wasn\u2019t at my maximum and my level can still go up. I will try to do all the competitions from now on, and the next one is Laval in France, so I will be there for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan claimed three of the six gold medals awarded in the B sport classes through Aita Sho in men\u2019s B1, Aoki Hiromi in women\u2019s B1, and Hamanoue Fumiya in men\u2019s B2. Austria\u2019s Linda Le Bon delighted the home crowd by taking gold in women\u2019s Lead B2, while Linn Poston of the USA topped the women\u2019s Lead B3 event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men\u2019s Lead B3 final belonged to 16-year-old Adrian Maillard of France, who secured gold in his first-ever international competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poston was particularly pleased with both the route setting and her own performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI loved it. I loved the route that they put specific for women\u2019s B3 because I feel like it really challenged us, and that was just awesome,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like right now I\u2019m in the best shape of my life. I feel really good on my climb, I really used all of the beta options I had planned before. In the end I got gold, so I\u2019m pretty happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The AL and AU sport classes produced a mix of familiar winners and breakthrough moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Austria\u2019s Angelino Zeller won men\u2019s Lead AL1, while France\u2019s Thierry Delarue continued one of the most remarkable streaks in Para Climbing by winning men\u2019s Lead AL2. Delarue has now won all 16 international competitions he has entered between 2018 and 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remaining gold medals went to Micailee Soria of the USA in women\u2019s Lead AL2, Brian Zarzuela of the USA in men\u2019s Lead AU2, Lucia Capovilla of Italy in women\u2019s Lead AU2, Bence Kerekes of Hungary in men\u2019s Lead AU3, and Paula De La Calle Pizarro of Spain in women\u2019s Lead AU3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Capovilla, the victory marked a return to the top step of the podium for the first time since Arco 2024 after a series of second- and third-place finishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI still cannot believe it. I\u2019m super happy with what my body has done,\u201d said the Italian. \u201cAll the training and all the effort I put in was worth it. Innsbruck is the event you really cannot wait for. Everything is special here, from the organisation to the atmosphere and the mountains surrounding us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I came down, I was happy with my climb, but I also knew I could have done even better and I was scared about what the others would do. Then I heard that I had won and I couldn\u2019t believe it. It makes all the work and every decision I\u2019ve made worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The international climbing season continues in Innsbruck, Austria, with the World Climbing Series event taking place from 17 to 21 June and featuring Boulder and Lead competitions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Established champions, home favourites, and international debutants all celebrated victories as the World Climbing Para Series Innsbruck 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[438,102],"class_list":["post-13890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-para-sport-climbing","tag-sport-climbing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t