Ten days of climbing have now come to a conclusion in Voronezh, Russia, where 417 athletes representing 37 different nationalities competed at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Youth World Championships from 21 to 30 August.

Athletes contested across three age categories in Boulder, Lead, and Speed, with those participating in all three disciplines also being considered for a combined ranking.

The US came home with ten medals. Leading the way with her debut in international Sport Climbing competition, 14-year-old Anastasia (Annie) Sanders won not one, not two, but three gold medals. Sanders placed first in Youth B (athletes born 14 or 15 years before the year of competition) Lead and Boulder, in addition to taking the combined win for her stellar performance throughout the championships. The US climber topped every single Youth B route of the competition, was the only athlete to top all four blocs in the Boulder final – using only one attempt, or ‘flashing’, three of them – and narrowly missed out on a top 10 finish in Speed, settling for 11th place. A triple gold medal win marks a glittering start to Sanders’ career, pinning her as one-to-watch in future competitions.

Other multi-medal performances came from Callie Close who took home two medals, bronze and silver in the Youth A Speed and Combined, respectively; and Dillon Countryman who won bronze and gold in Youth B Lead and Combined, respectively.

US medal results are below and full results can be found here.

Youth A women’s Speed
Bronze – Callie Close (USA)

Youth A women’s Combined
Silver – Callie Close (USA)

Youth B men’s Boulder
Bronze – Augustine Chi (USA)

Youth B women’s Boulder
Gold – Anastasia Sanders (USA)

Youth B men’s Lead
Silver – Hugo Hoyer (USA)
Bronze – Dillon Countryman (USA)

Youth B women’s Lead
Gold – Anastasia Sanders (USA)

Youth B men’s Speed
Silver – Samuel Watson (USA)

Youth B men’s Combined
Gold – Dillon Countryman (USA)

Youth B women’s Combined
Gold – Anastasia Sanders (USA)

Content courtesy of IFSC; photo from Jan Virt/IFSC