Sport climbing, led by Colin Duffy creates history
Colin Duffy has achieved something historic: On Thursday he won the Boulder World Cup in Innsbruck, three days later the US boy also triumphed in the lead competition at the same place.
The finger goes up – and twice in Innsbruck: Colin Duffy won both the bouldering and the lead competition.
picture alliance / EXPA / APA / picturedesk.com
Duffy is no longer a boy, after all he is already 18 years old. In the Lead World Cup, the youngest in the field made his eight competitors look old and won with a grip lead (38+) ahead of the Japanese Ao Yurikusa and his compatriot Jesse Grupper.
As in the women’s lead final, the awarding of the silver and bronze medals had to be decided based on the time, because the first qualifying round had to be held in two groups due to the field of participants and therefore no so-called countback evaluation could be carried out. Yurikusa was up to the handle 37+ 3:14 minutes, Grupper 4:28 minutes.
Standing on the mat before my lead route, I was in full focus.
But the big stage belonged to Duffy, who was the first World Cup climber ever to win two different World Cup disciplines in one place. “Actually, I felt very tired physically and mentally after this week in Innsbruck,” he told “Eurosport”, “but when I stood on the mat before my lead route, I had full focus,” said the youngster from Broomfield /Colorado.
He had already had in mind that he could create something historic with the possible double victory, “but above all I wanted to fully exploit my potential”. He did it impressively, after all, Bouldering World Cups have been held since 1998.
Megos and Fleas with no chance of medals
Once too relaxed: Alex Megos.
picture alliance / EXPA / APA / picturedesk.com
It was also a very challenging week for the two DAV athletes Yannick Flohé and Alex Megos, but the German duo could not intervene in the medal award in the lead final. Megos started first and got a score of 28+. “I pulled the handle too relaxed,” said Megos after the final, which he finished in eighth place. Flohé was seventh (grip 31), the Innsbruck local hero Jakob Schubert (36+) ended up in fifth place.