Sanders, Duffy of USA Secure 3rd and 4th in SLC’s Climbing World Cup

World Cup action in Salt Lake City for the climbing community. Photo: TownLift // Michele Roepke

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Annie Sanders, 17, of USA Climbing  and her teammate, Olympian Colin Duffy earned third and fourth place respectively over the weekend in the Climbing World Cup hosted in Salt Lake City.

“Shout out to the SLC crowd,” Duffy wrote on social media about the sold out spectators. “For sure one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever gotten to climb in.”

The able-bodied competition was in the sport discipline of bouldering and there was a Para Climbing World Cup for lead climbing.

Salt Lake City resident Kyra Condie placed 15th in the women’s semifinal behind teammate Helen Gillett in ninth but only the top eight advance to the finals. 

Both Sanders and Duffy were the only Americans in their finals as 28 countries were represented in their competition for this, the seventh climbing World Cup to be held in Salt Lake City. 

Sanders, who’s from Texas, is a previous World Cup medalist. 

Duffy was ninth in qualis, seventh in semis, and fourth in finals. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sorato Anraku of Japan won for the men with a 84.4, second was Sohta Amagasa, also of Japan was 69.6 and Dohyun Lee was in third with a close 69.5.

Sanders was ninth in the qualifications, and third in the semi finals. Below, watch Sanders in the qualification round.

Japan’s Mao Nakamura won with a score of 84.7 and France’s Zelia Avezou was second. There were multiple exciting ties in the weekend, including the judge’s points given of 70.0 for second, Sanders’ third, and fourth to French Olympian Oriane Bertone.  

The tour landed in Utah from Brazil and next heads to Denver, from where USA Climbing, now headquartered in Salt Lake City moved then it’s back to Europe everyone goes for the summer competitions.

Duffy is attending the University of Colorado and majoring in engineering.

Then Para Climbing World Cup was held with athletes representing 24 countries. Team USA ultimately won 14 medals at the event and secured the overall combined team ranking. with Japan in second and Germany in third.

The Americans on top of their podiums for gender and disability classifications categories are as follows: Nat Vorel, Braden Butler, Brian Zarzuela, Hannah Zook, Linn Poston.