D1: Women’s lead qualifications
11am, time for women’s lead competition. After this first round, something is for sure: all the favorites honored their commitments.
Two hours after the bouldering climbers exploit in the Studio room, it was time for women to start their competition in the Arena. We already saw the lead wall on the Place du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix. But it was even more impressive to see it – massive – in the heart of the AccorHotels Arena.
Athlete’s eyes are not focused on the decorum, even if some looks and smiles can tell us how proud they are at the entrance of this massive stage.
The main actresses of the discipline are here. Janja Garnbret, Anak Verhoeven and Kim Jain climb to go through the next round, but they also want to make an impression. They top their two routes this morning. The two austrian athletes, Jessica Pilz and Magdalena Röck did the same, let’s bet the austrian team is aiming to be on the podiums.
Another climber complete the group at the temporary ranking top places. Mina Markovic is back to her highest level, with two tops for the Slovenian. French climbers met the expectations, with Julia Chanourdie and Salomé Romain (at the 7th place, ex-aequo in the qualifications). « We didn’t have many surprises during this first round, even if some serious competitors failed to pass the qualifications », confirms Corentin Le Goff, coach of the French team. He probably refered to the defeat of Tsaja Kalan from Sweden who won’t go to the second round of these championships.
Big hit for the French girls, 5 athletes were competing, and we will see all of them in the semi finals on Friday evening. « France will be the country the most represented. Of course we made mistakes, but we always reacted and fought hard. It’s a very good start for the French lead team » said Corentin Le Goff.
Julia Chanourdie and Salomé Romain put up a strong performance, followed by Mathilde Becerra and Nolwenn Arc (13th and 15th). Hélène Janicot finished 17th. Then, Charlotte Durif, competing for the combined event, also goes through the next round.
