adidas Rockstars – Semi-finals
The semi-final round has just finished. It was exciting and surprising at the same time. The routesetting quartet did everything they could to expose competitors’ all weak points and, this way, check out who’s able to overcome their weaknesses most effectively. Therefore, the best six women and men are definitely the ones who totally deserve the privilege of entering the finals.
Akiyo Noguchi one move away from the top
(photo: Piotr Dro¿d¿)
The first women’s problem included a crucial dyno from crimps to pinches. And since the pinches were not the best ones, the boulder was completed only by seven out of 21 athletes. It is said that apart from dynos, there is also one more thing female climbers are not very good at. The talk is about nothing but slopers. And probably that’s why the boulder number 3 was built out of huge sloper volumes used previously during the men’s qualifications. Still, they did not prevent the favorites from reaching the top hold. The greatest killer appeared to be harmlessly looking semi-final’s last problem. Pyramid volumes required flawless technique and body balance, which only Akiyo Noguchi, Alex Puccio, Mina Leslie-Wujastyk and Juliane Wurm managed to make use of. And out of all the semi-finalists only Alex and Akiyo completed all the four problems. In the final round we are going to see Katharina Saurwein and Therese Johansen as well. Unfortunately, the semi-final round was the end of the competition for Mélissa Le Nevé, Sasha DiGiulian and the biggest surprise of the event, only 16-year-old Julia Pinggera, whose brilliant performance made her finish the event ranked #7.
Alex Puccio, #2 after the semi-finals
(photo: Piotr Dro¿d¿)
Men’s semis were dominated by super strong Sean McColl, who made his fellow competitors fall far behind as he was the only one to complete all four boulders. The Canadian made all the problems look easy but as it turned out later on they were actually hard enough to exclude a great favorite, Dmitry Sharafutdinov from the final six. It was the first boulder that appeared to be the most difficult and, apart from Sean, only young and aspiring Jan Hojer managed to stick to one nasty volume after another to finally reach the sloper and the top hold. Relatively easy crimpy 2nd problem was followed by another two requiring composure and focus as they made it so easy to lose balance and, as a result, fall off the wall. Apart from Sean and Jan, other male competitors who are going to fight for the final super boulder are: Jon Cardwell, Rustam Gelmanov, Guillaume Glairon Mondet and Jeremy Bonder.
Sean McColl, unbeatabale in the semis
(photo: Piotr Dro¿d¿)
The complete semi-final results are available at the home website of the event: http://www.adidas-rockstars.com/ together with the livestream.
To check out the semi-final gallery click here.
The finals combined with the music performed live are going to start at 8 pm. Our coverage will come shortly after so stay tuned!
Greetings from Stuttgart,
ClimbAndMore Team
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