The 2026 World Climbing Youth Championship wrapped up this past weekend in Arco, Italy, held July 18–25 against the dramatic backdrop of the Garda Trentino. This is the 3rd time the storied venue has hosted the Youth World Championship, having previously welcomed the event in 2015 and 2019. More than 750 climbers from 69 nations descended on the historic Climbing Stadium to contest Boulder, Lead, and Speed across the U17 and U19 categories. Leading the way for US athletes was Analise Van Hoang, who climbed to a silver medal in U19 Women’s Boulder and narrowly missed a second podium in Lead, anchoring a young American squad that stacked up finals and semifinal appearances across all three disciplines.

Boulder

U19 Women

Paula Mayer-Vorfelder (GER)
Analise Van Hoang (USA)
Louise Puech Yazid (FRA)

Van Hoang delivered the performance of the championship for USA, taking silver in the U19 Women’s Boulder final. The result caps a standout season for the reigning U19 Boulder national champion, a Berkeley, California native who has now medaled across different disciplines and levels. She also earned silver in Lead at the 2026 YETI Climbing National Championships and took home bronze in Lead at the Pan American Cup in Armenia over the past year, underscoring her range as a two-discipline threat.

Teammate Jolie Chi announced herself early, topping all 5 walls and flashing 3 of them in the qualifying round. Jolie led all athletes across the entire U19 Women’s Boulder round before finishing 7th in the final. A solid showing from the winner of the 2026 Youth National Championship in Salt Lake City. Francesca Hain also represented the USA, finishing 30th in qualification in her first showing on the world stage.

U19 Men
James Burt and Cozmo Rothfork, brother of Team USA athlete Isis Rothfork, both advanced to the semifinals, finishing 16th and 17th respectively. 2026 Youth Nationals 3rd place finisher Sebastian Durand started strong, posting the second highest score of the qualification round before finishing 23rd.

U17 Women
Isabel Patajo led the American contingent, advancing to the semifinal and finishing 24th. Up-and-coming climbers Kailyn Leong (52nd) and Evelyn Orton (56th) also competed in qualification.

U17 Men
National champion Bayes Wilder reached the semifinal and placed 10th, one of two top-10 finishes on the week for the young American. Alexander Krugman (17th) and Arief Nagara (23rd) also climbed into the semifinal round.

Lead

U19 Women
In one of the most agonizing results of the championship, Analise Van Hoang finished 4th in the U19 Women’s Lead final. Van Hoang matched the top three athletes on the very same hold and was separated from a medal only by a countback to her semifinal score. The near miss, paired with her Boulder silver, made Van Hoang the story of the week for Team USA.

U19 Men
Cruz Padilla landed in 11th, continuing to establish himself as one of the brightest young talents for the USA. Right behind him in 13th was Bryce Nix, fresh off his 7th-place showing in Boulder and first overall podium in Lead at the 2026 Youth National Championship in Salt Lake City.

U17 Women
2026 Youth Nationals silver medalist and Collegiate National Championship gold medal winner Evelyn Orton finished 11th and Khadija Magali (km) Suleman advanced to the semifinal as well, finishing in 15th. Orton, the 2024 U17 Women’s Boulder national champion, continues to show she’s equally at home on Boulder and Lead.

U17 Men
Bayes Wilder notched his second top 10 of the championship, placing 10th in the Lead semifinal to go with his 10th in Boulder, a testament to his all-around strength. Cooper Wilmot also reached the semifinal, finishing 20th, another strong outing after his silver medal at the 2026 Youth Nationals.

Speed

U19 Women
The U19 Women’s Speed field brought the top U.S. national talent to Arco. Bella Wargo, a three-time Youth World Championship Speed competitor led the Americans, reaching the finals bracket to finish 10th after previous Worlds showings of 6th at Helsinki in 2025 and 8th at Guiyang in 2024. Right behind her in 11th was reigning U19 Speed national champion Madeleine Haferling, who arrived in Arco off a standout season that included a Pan American Cup appearance in Armenia and a top finish at National Team Trials. National runner-up Claire Pee rounded out the contingent in 22nd, capping a year in which she and Haferling repeatedly traded places at the top of the domestic podium.

U19 Men
The U19 Men’s Speed contingent brought a trio of seasoned international competitors to Arco. Taede Mai led the Americans in 10th, backing up a fourth-place finish at Helsinki 2025. Arco marked his fourth Youth World Championship, to go with a silver at the Pan American Cup in Armenia last year. Khoi Tran followed in 13th, the third Youth Worlds appearance for another climber who has steadily logged World Climbing starts. Reigning U19 Speed national champion Zaden Rogers rounded out the group in 34th.

U17 Women
Returning to defend the gold she won at the 2025 Youth World Championships in Helsinki, Evie Albrecht blazed to the fastest qualifying time of the entire U17 Women’s field at 6.50 seconds before ultimately finishing 5th.

U17 Men
2026 U17 Speed National Champion Austin Bock matched his teammate’s run, qualifying 2nd at 5.47 seconds and advancing through the bracket to finish 5th, a breakout result at his third Youth World Championship after placing 20th at Guiyang 2024 and 34th at Helsinki 2025. Sartaaj Singh (21st) and Sawyer Jones (32nd) also competed.

Full results from the World Climbing Youth Championship Arco 2026 can be found here. You can rewatch the competition on World Climbing’s YouTube channel. Follow @usaclimbing on social media for competition updates and behind-the-scenes action.