The 2025 World Climbing season reached its conclusion in Seoul, South Korea, where the sport’s biggest names faced one final test. After the explosive opener in Keqiao and the all-around challenge of Innsbruck, Seoul distilled competition to its essentials: endurance on lead and precision on both men’s and women’s boulders
Lead Finals: Composure Decides
The lead routes combined a psychological jump, sustained overhang climbing, and a technical headwall that punished fatigue. In the women’s final, Janja Garnbret of Slovenia once again proved untouchable, securing gold with controlled, efficient movement. Rosa Rekar of Slovenia delivered a breakthrough silver, and Chaehyun Seo of Korea claimed bronze in front of a home crowd.
On the men’s side, Dohyun Lee of Korea rose to the occasion, taking gold under pressure. Satone Yoshida of Japan earned silver with a measured climb, and Taisei Homma of Japan completed the podium with bronze.
Boulder Finals: Precision to Close
The boulder rounds demanded efficiency and execution. Garnbret capped her weekend with a second gold, reinforcing her dominance across disciplines. Oriane Bertone of France continued her consistent season with silver, while Melina Costanza of the USA secured bronze in a breakout result.
In the men’s final, Sorato Anraku of Japan closed the season as he began it – on top – adding Seoul gold to his opening victory in Keqiao. Mejdi Schalck of France took silver, and Lee added a bronze to complete an exceptional home performance.
What Seoul Confirmed
Seoul didn’t change the story – it confirmed it. Garnbret remains the standard. Anraku has arrived as a defining force. And across the field, the margins continue to shrink.
From Keqiao to Innsbruck to Seoul, the 2025 season showed the sport to be fast-evolving – more global and more competitive.