IFSC Climbing World Cup Vail 2014: Noguchi and Sharafutdinov set themselves apart with gold medals

Last Friday and Saturday, June 6-7, the 2014 IFSC Boulder World Cup Series pulled into its only stop on US soil, in Vail, Colorado. Vail, home to the third largest ski mountain in North America, has become a mecca for mountain sports enthusiasts, and this year's World Cup, held in conjunction with the Vail Mountain Games, showcased the best of what the sport has to offer!

IFSC Climbing World Cup Vail 2014: Fanny Gibert, Akiyo Noguchi and Anna Stöhr (c) Heiko Wilhelm (OeWK) The 2014 Vail IFSC Boulder World Cup attracted a large field of American climbers that don't regularly compete in IFSC World Cups, and the competition was all the more fierce!

Renewed finals, but familiar champions

With a large field of American climbers making their way through to the semi-finals, the field was tense and finals spots all the more difficult to come by. In the men's field, last year's Vail gold medalist Russia's Dmitrii Sharafutdinov repeated his feat and took the top spot, topping all four problems. Last week's winner, France's Guillaume Glairon Mondet, took the second spot on the podium this week with three tops, followed by Canada's Sean McColl, with three tops as well.

In the women's field, the only US delegate to the finals was 16 year old Megan Mascarenas, who at 16 years old, gave a great showing and finished fourth. Our podium was topped by Akiyo Noguchi, who topped all the problems quickly in a show of both strength and agility.France's Fanny Gibert took silver, the first medal for a French woman in the 2014 IFSC World Cup season. Finally, Anna Stöhr took bronze, with the same three tops as Gibert, only in two more attempts. With her gold this weekend, Noguchi moves into the top spot in the IFSC Boulder Rankings, making our next competitions in Haiyang and Laval must-sees!

Next stop: Haiyang (CHN)

The IFSC Boulder World Cup tour reaches its penultimate stop, and the Lead series kicks off this June 20-22 in Haiyang, China, with our first three-discipline World Cup of 2014! With Lead, Speed, and Boulder, there's sure to be something for everyone in the Chinese beachfront city of Haiyang!

More information on the event, as well as live streaming of the semi-finals and finals on: www.ifsc-climbing.org As always, we are present on Twitter during competitions, so reach out with the hashtag #IFSCwc. Result Top Women IFSC Climbing World Cup Vail 2014: Result Top Women Result Top Men IFSC Climbing World Cup Vail 2014: Result Top Men

QuelleMeriwether Burruss (IFSC), Foto: Heiko Wilhelm (OeWK)