Bouldering World Championships 2014 kicks off in Munich

The 2014 Bouldering World Championship starts in Munich, Germany tomorrow. The men's Qualification takes place on Thursday, the Women's Qualification on Friday while the Semifinals and Finals take place on Saturday.
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IFSC Bouldering World Championships Munich, from 21 - 23 August 2014
IFSC
Bouldering is firmly back on the agenda with the Bouldering World Championship 2014 taking place in Munich, Germany, during the next three days. The World Championship takes place once every two years and with over 200 athletes representing 45 different countries, expectations are understandably high, especially since the World Cup series went right down to the wire with overall victory being clinched only at the last event by Japan's Akiyo Noguchi and Germany's Jan Hojer. Britain's Shauna Coxsey and Russia's Dmitrii Sharafutdinov will certainly do their very best to make amends after finishing 2nd overall, and Sharafutdinov in particular will be able to bank on his massive Championship experience: he won World Championship title at Aviles in 2007, at Arco in 2011 and in Paris in 2012.

While all the world's best boulderers have already reached the enormous and beautiful Olympiastadion, one athlete in particular will be notable for her absence: Anna Stöhr. The undisputed queen of bouldering announced yesterday that she will not compete due to a niggling tendon injury and the loss of the two times Bouldering World Champion, reigning European Champion and four times winner of the Bouldering World Cup is immense, not only for the Austrian Team which she will nevertheless represent.

Numerous athletes will attempt to capitalise on Stöhr's absence, including the above mentioned Noguchi and Coxsey, as well as Juliane Wurm competing in front of her home crowd, and America's Alex Puccio who even skipped the last two World Cups to tank up on the energy needed for this competition. Other strong contenders to look out for are Japan's Miho Nonaka and France's Marine Thévenet and defending World Champion Mélanie Sandoz.

In the men's event Dmitrii Sharafutdinov and Jan Hojer will have to watch out for Austria's Kilian Fischhuber, gunning for the only title missing from his immense curriculum in what is bound to be his last World Championship appearance, while other favorites include Rustam Gelmanov, France's Guillaume Glairon Mondet, Canada's Sean McColl and of course Adam Ondra from the Czech Republic. It has to be said though that the difference between the athletes is minimal and bouldering such a fickle, unpredictable sport that the main priority for all athletes is to make it to the final. At which point it's anyone's game!



Provisional program (GMT+2)

Thursday, August 21
10h00–16h00 Boulder qualification for men

Friday, August 22
14h00–19h00 Boulder qualification for women
20h00–22h00 Climbing Movie Night at the Olympic Lake Cinema

Saturday, August 23
11h00–13h30 Boulder semi-final for men & women (live streaming)
18h30–21h00 Boulder final for men & women (live streaming)





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