The final Lead World Cup of the season took place on September 5-6 in Koper, Slovenia! 130 athletes from 35 countries and territories, including Olympian Jesse Grupper, gathered in the city’s old town for this Lead-only event. Slovenia is accustomed to the World Cup circuit, as this competition marked the 32nd IFSC Climbing World Cup held by the country.

Of the seven athletes from Team USA who competed, Analise Van Hoang progressed to Semi-Finals.

Hoang Shows Standout Performance in First World Cup Semi-Finals 

For Analise Van Hoang, Koper was her first Lead IFSC Climbing World Cup, and just her second World Cup in general. Despite most of her experience stemming from Youth World Championships, Hoang placed 18th in the Qualification round with a score of 19.36, marking her first entrance into a World Cup Semi-Finals round. Notably, the three athletes directly behind her all tied for 19th place. During Semi-Finals, Hoang placed 22nd with a score of 25+ alongside two other athletes. With a steady pace, she managed to recover after a burst of controlled foot cuts at the start, even flexing an incredible clip off a tiny crimp moments later.

Also representing Team USA in the Qualification round were Zoe Yi in 27th place with a score of 25.0, Ella Fisher in 41st with a score of 37.45, and Maya Madere in 52nd with a score of 51.2. The difficulty of the Qualification route can truly be shown within the results, as all athletes scores were nearly back-to-back, showing how the smallest of moves could affect athletes’ rankings.

3 Men represent Team USA in Qualification Round 

The Qualification round featured Olympian Jesse Grupper, who placed 33rd with a score of 33.54, Sergey Lakhno, who placed 42nd with a score of 38.07, and Nathan Sato, who placed 46th with a score of 42.51. Grupper and Sato have both competed at a Koper World Cup in the past. Notably, both Grupper and Lakhno were only fractions away from the athletes on either side of their rankings, showing the true difficulty of their route.

You can rewatch the IFSC World Cup Koper 2025 on the IFSC YouTube Channel.

Follow @usaclimbing on social media for competition updates and behind-the-scenes action.