Bouldering World Cup 2007, Grindelwald won by Fischhuber and Gros

Kilian Fischhuber and Natalija Gros top the fifth stage of the Bouldering World Cup beneath the Eiger at Grindelwald, Switzerland. This result adds another important link to the Austrian's leadership: after winning in Hall, placing 2nd in Erlangen, 3rd in Sofia and 4th in La Reunion he alone commands the field, with a staggering 182 points ahead of closest rival Jorg Verhoeven from Holland.

The female ranking is a completely different kettle of fish, with Natalija Gros conferming not only her splendid form but also her ability to perform in both bouldering and lead competitions. the Slovenian is now third in the provisional ranking, 57 points behind Juliette Danion and 25 behind Olga Shalagina.

Mister boulder Fischhuber won the competition by dominating it from the outset - 6 tops in just 7 attempts meant he was the only athlete to send all problems in the qualification. In the semifinal he sent 4 problems in 13 attempts, leaving strength for the final - all four tops in just 6 attempts.

He was shadowed closely by the 25 year old Asian revelation, Akito Matsushima from Japan, who finished second thanks to his 3 final tops in 6 attempts. The grand Finn Nalle Hukkataival placed third with just one attempt more, while another (great) Lead specialist, the flying Dutchman Jorg Verhoeven, placed 4th. Guillaume Glairon Mondet from France finished 5th, while this year's other revelation, Dmitry Sharafutdinov from Russia, placed 6th.

Sharafutdinov's teammate, 18 year old Yana Chereshneva led the female comp after the first round, while 18 year old Akiyo Noguchi from Japan led the Semifinal after being the only athlete to send all 4 problems. She was followed closely by Olga Shalagina and Natalija Gros and in the final rush Gros came out tops, with 2 problems solved in 2 attempts, while Noguchi placed second with 2 boulders and 5 attempts.

20 year old Austrian Katharina Saurwein made an impressive comeback from provisional 5th to plac 3rd overall, while Juliette Danion placed fourth to secure her overall World Cup leadership. Silvie Rajfova from the Czech Republic placed 5th, while the reigning bouldering World Champion Olga Shalagina placed 6th.


Results men
1 Kilian Fischhuber AUT
2 Akito Matsushima JPN
3 Nalle Hukkataival FIN
4 Jorg Verhoeven NED
5 Guillaume GlaironMondet FRA
6 Dmitry Sharafutdinov RUS
7 Cédric Lachat SUI
8 Gabriele Moroni ITA
9 Mikhail Chernikov RUS
10 Stephane Julien FRA
11 Martin Jaggi SUI
12 Christian Core ITA
13 Jérôme Meyer FRA
14 Jonas Baumann GER
15 Stewart Watson GBR
16 Peter Würth GER
17 Gérome Pouvreau FRA
18 Nicolas Badia FRA
19 Blaz Rant SLO
20 Mykhaylo Shalagin UKR
21 Kazuma Watanabe JPN
22 Stefano Ghidini ITA
23 Wouter Jongeneelen NED
23 Tomasz Oleksy POL
25 Daniel Dulac FRA
full results


Results women
1 Natalija Gros SLO
2 Akiyo Noguchi JPN
3 Katharina Saurwein AUT
4 Juliette Danion FRA
5 Silvie Rajfova CZE
6 Olga Shalagina UKR
7 Yulia Abramchuk RUS
8 Maud Ansade FRA
9 Anja Hodann SWE
10 Helena Lipenska CZE
11 Barbara Bacher AUT
12 Yana Chereshneva RUS
13 Celine Combaz FRA
14 Roberta Longo ITA
15 Alexandra Eyer SUI
16 Evgenia Malamid RUS
17 Ksenia Alexeeva RUS
18 Samantha Berry AUS
19 Anne-Laure Chevrier FRA
20 Therese Johannesen NOR
21 Chloé Graftiaux BEL
22 Juliane Wurm GER
23 Vera Zijlstra NED
24 Stella Marchisio ITA
full results

watch competition video