Updates: 21/04/2022 12:27
Published: 21.04.2022, 12:27
Prague – After five years, a major international climbing race under the auspices of the IFSC will return to the Czech Republic. The European Bouldering Cup will take place in Prague on April 30 and May 1. Czech number one Adam Ondra and Eliška Adamovská will also be present. More than 160 competitors from 22 countries are registered, including the fifth man of the Tokyo Olympics, the Frenchman Mickaël Mawem.
Elite climbers will compete in the Jungle Sports Park in Letňany. “It was a logical choice for us. We have a national center here, we have our own training wall, profiles, holds, backgrounds. It would be difficult to consolidate it elsewhere”, explained Jan Bloudek, president of the Czech Mountaineering Association. Association, at today’s press conference.
Saturday’s qualifications will take place indoors and for capacity reasons are not open to the public. Sunday’s semi-finals and finals will take place on the wall, construction of which will begin on Friday. The space for climbers will be covered due to possible bad weather. The bleachers will be able to accommodate 1,500 spectators, for whom reception tents will be prepared in the event of inadmissibility.
One of Ondra’s best climbers would also like to see the fans. So far, he has only had this opportunity at a top international race in 2009, when the Lead Climbing World Cup was held in Brno. “I don’t remember him well because I skipped in the semi-finals and didn’t qualify for the final,” he said.
The family environment is motivating for him. “If it was the Olympics or the World Cup, the fact that it is at home could increase the pressure. But because it is only the European Cup in quotes, I am all the more looking forward and it’s a motivation to get the most out of it.” possible outcome. “, entrusted the sixth man of the Olympic combination in Tokyo.
After the Olympics, he returned to nature and climbed rocks in the winter. Although he hasn’t paid much attention to bouldering training lately, he has final European Cup ambitions. “But bouldering is a lottery, anything can happen,” he said.
Adamovská would also like to be one of the best, even if her stronger side is also climbing in difficulty. “I would be happy with the final, but at the same time I want to enjoy it and climb as best I can, not make unnecessary mistakes. I feel pressure given that it’s at home,” he said. she declared.
At the recent World Cup in Meiringen, Switzerland, she placed 21st in qualifying, so she missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals. He now pays particular attention to bouldering. “Since there’s a double combination at the Olympics, that’s the main thing I train to bridge the differences between bouldering and scrambling,” she said.
A total of fifteen Czech competitors are expected to take part in the European Cup. All race information, including ticket sales, is available on the website www.bouldercup.cz.
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