World Cup in sport climbing (bouldering), final, June 3, 2023, Prague. And To-hyeon from Korea.
Prague – On the way to the silver medal from the World Cup, Adam Ondra was also helped by a friendly gesture from competitor Yannick Flohé. The German climber gave up trying to climb the third boulder before the four-minute limit expired and instead cleaned the opening holds for the next competitor in the last tens of seconds. That was Ondra, who then conquered this boulder as one of the two finalists, bringing him significantly closer to a medal.
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“It's great to see that we wish each other like this and play according to the spirit of fair play. I hope that the fact that climbing is an Olympic sport won't change anything,” he praised. “I talked to him right after finishing and he told me that, so of course I thanked him. He prepared it excellently. I think the atmosphere between us is good. I think he would do it for anyone.”
It is not unusual for climbers to clean their holds themselves, although they tend to have helpers to do it on big events. “We know exactly what we want to clean with a brush and what to blow,” explained Ondra.
Today's silver is his eighteenth bouldering medal from the World Cup. And climbing without a rope is its weaker discipline compared to climbing on difficulty. “It's a fun game that I like to play, but at the same time I keep my feet on the ground. I know that I'm certainly not the most consistent boulderer. If I'm lucky like today, I can be on the box, I can even win. But it could very well have happened that I wouldn't have progressed to the semi-finals at all. I was actually very close to it,” he explained his relationship to bouldering.
His success at the World Cup in Prague was watched by packed stands, which also included Ondro's wife Iva and one-year-old son Hugo. “It worked out great. Hugo normally has one nap now, he only sleeps past noon. But the semi-final woke him up, so he slept little and took another afternoon nap. So he finally lasted until the end of the final. Right after the end, I buried him and said goodbye with his wife, so it was great,” said Ondra.
Next week he has a World Cup bouldering competition in Brixen. Then he is going to SP in difficulty to Villars and Chamonix. Everything is aimed at him being in top form for the World Championships in Bern. Until then, he will forgive his favorite rocks. “There is a world championship in individual disciplines in Bern, but also an Olympic double combination of difficulty and bouldering. It will be the first opportunity to nominate for the Olympics. That is the race this season is about,” he added.
