The women’s Boulder final at the World Climbing Series Innsbruck saw Annie Sanders of the USA complete a remarkable sweep of the competition, taking gold after also finishing first in qualification and semi-final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanders scored 68.9 points to secure her second Boulder gold medal of the season and her third Series victory in less than two weeks after winning both Boulder and Lead in Prague, Czechia. With the Lead competition still to come in Innsbruck, Sanders now has the opportunity to complete another double victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An exceptionally difficult final produced only three tops across the entire field, and Sanders was responsible for two of them. The American climber was the only finalist to top more than one boulder, finding success on W2 and W4 to build an unassailable lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her most impressive moment came on W2, where she flashed the problem on her first attempt. The feat proved decisive in separating Sanders from the rest of the field, as only Camilla Moroni of Italy previously managed to secure the zone on the boulder after 10 attempts, while every other finalist failed to score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It feels pretty surreal,” said Sanders moments after the flower ceremony. “Innsbruck is one of my favourite places, my European home, so to win gold here is really cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I feel really good about my shape, I had a ton of fun out there on the mats, and I’m super psyched right now! I’ll definitely enjoy this medal, have a nice rest day tomorrow and watch the boys, support Colin, before thinking about Lead. I’ll get some sleep, chill, and maybe get some ice cream, they have good ice cream here!” she concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erin McNeice of Great Britain earned silver with 34.8 points after struggling early in the round, but eventually closing with a top on the fourth and final problem, amd becoming the only other climber to register a top in the final. The podium finish marked McNeice\u2019s fourth consecutive Boulder Series medal of the season, adding to three previous podiums that include a gold medal in Alcobendas, Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Completing the podium was Oceania Mackenzie of Australia with 30.0 points. The Australian secured her third medal of the 2026 season following bronze in Keqiao, China, and gold in Bern, Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhang Yuetong of China finished fourth with 29.4 points, narrowly missing a second consecutive podium after taking bronze in Prague. Oriane Bertone of France placed fifth with 24.5 points as she continues her search for a first medal of the season while managing a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayala Kerem of Israel followed in sixth place with 19.7 points, Moroni took seventh with 19.0 points, and Ito Futaba of Japan marked her first final appearance of the season with eighth place on 9.8 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With one Boulder competition left in the 2026 season, only three athletes remain in contention for the women\u2019s Boulder Series Ranking presented by Euroholds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McNeice leads the standings with 3,740 points, followed by Mackenzie on 3,470 points and Sanders on 3,300 points. The final Boulder Series event of the season will take place in Salt Lake City, USA, from 16 to 18 October, where the discipline title will be decided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The women’s Boulder final at the World Climbing Series Innsbruck saw Annie Sanders of the USA complete a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13969,"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":[406,102],"class_list":["post-13968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-boulder","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