03.02.2023
As host of the SAC Swiss Ice Climbing Cup and the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup, Saas-Fee was “the place to be” for all climbing fans in January – and at the same time the first stop of the year for the “WM Sportklettern 2023” to promote the IFSC Climbing and Paraclimbing World Championships in August.
A month of nail-biting climbing action in Saas-Fee came to an end last weekend with the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup, which gave the Swiss athletes every reason to celebrate – they claimed four medals overall and, together with the athletes from France, ensured a fantastic atmosphere in the Ice Dome.
For the association “WM Sportklettern 2023”, Saas-Fee was the first stop in 2023 to promote the IFSC Climbing and Paraclimbing World Championships at home, in Switzerland, and the events proved to be a good start to the World Championship year in many ways. The Swiss athletes presented themselves in excellent form and kept the crowd on their toes. In addition, an enthusiastic audience created an outstanding atmosphere – exactly what the WM Sportklettern 2023 also want for their event in August: “a real party,” as Martin Rhyner, COO of the WM Sportklettern 2023, confirmed in an interview with Bern Welcome.
In total, more than 100 athletes from 19 countries took part in this year’s Ice Climbing World Cup in Saas-Fee, which also saw the final World Cup winners of the 2023 UIAA Ice Climbing season crowned.
While Switzerland’s Sina Goetz celebrated her very first World Cup victory after a thrilling final in Lead, her team colleague and reigning world and European champion Petra Klingler secured third place. Klingler thus claimed the top podium position in the overall World Cup ranking in the Lead discipline with 245 points, while Sina Goetz moves up to second place (208 points). Vivien Labarile, also from Switzerland, who celebrated a bronze medal in Speed in Saas-Fee, finishes the World Cup season on top of the podium in the Speed discipline (212 points). Benjamin Bosshard completes the Swiss success story, securing a second place in the men’s Lead competition and, thus, third place in the overall World Cup ranking (182 points).
On 14 January 2023, as the ideal preparation for the World Cup weekend two weeks later, 21 athletes from Switzerland were already competing for the Swiss Ice Climbing Cup titles. Celina Bosshard clinched the title in both Lead and Speed, while a pair of brothers prevailed in the men’s competition: Andy Gantner topped the podium in Lead and Florian Gantner claimed first place in the Speed competition.
Watch the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup competitions on the UIAA YouTube channel.
Photo: UIAA/Kaspar Kellerhals