This past weekend, 16 athletes represented Team USA in Wujiang, China for the second IFSC Climbing World Cup of the season! Team USA received a Bronze medal for Lead, which was awarded at the Fenhu Culture and Sports Center along the Yangtze River Delta.

Sanders Secures Bronze Medal in Women’s Lead Final

4 women represented Team USA in Lead at the IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2025, with Maya Madere advancing to Lead Semi-Finals and Annie Sanders securing Bronze after an extremely close Lead Finals round that resulted in a rare tie for Gold. 

Annie Sanders, who just won Gold at last weekend’s Keqiao World Cup, was confident in every move she made on her Finals route. Sanders breezed through both the two-handed campus jump in the middle of the route, as well as the draining drop-down move, before falling at hold 39+. The only two competitors to score higher than Sanders were Great Britain’s Erin McNeice and South Korea’s Seo Chaehyun, who, in a rare turn of events, shared a Gold medal.

McNeice and Seo both reached hold 41 in Finals, but couldn’t be separated through Qualification and Semi-Finals performances as they both topped those routes. Instead, the tie-breaker would come down to climbing time on the Final route, however both competitors timed at 4:26 meaning they could not be separated and therefore both took a joint Gold medal.

In Lead Semi-Finals, Maya Madere climbed powerfully, eventually landing in 21st place. Also representing Team USA in the Lead Qualification round were Adriene Akiko Clark (placed 29th), and Ella Fisher (placed 32nd).

3 men represented Team USA in Lead, with Jesse Grupper advancing to Lead Semi-Finals. 

In Lead Semi-Finals, Jesse Grupper found impressive heel-hooks throughout the men’s route, taking the opportunity to rest whenever possible. With nearly 1 minute left on the clock, Grupper carefully used almost his entire 6 minutes before landing in 13th place.

Also representing Team USA in the Lead Qualification round were Declan Osgood (placed 37th) and Sergey Lakhno (placed 40th).

Watson Narrowly Misses Podium, Places 4th in Finals 

5 men represented Team USA in Speed at the IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2025, with 2 advancing to Finals in the first Speed World Cup of the year.

Sam Watson danced around his own world record (4.74 seconds) this weekend, earning a time of 4.76 seconds during Qualification. Then, during the first round of Speed Finals, he earned a time of 4.78 seconds–again just shy of the world record. In the small final, pressure from the audience mounted as he approached the wall, but by the smallest of margins he was beaten by Indonesia’s Kiromal Katiban by only 0.287 seconds. Wujiang is familiar with Watson, as it’s the same venue where he set two men’s Speed world records in 2024.

“I know the world record will continue to be broken from my perspective, I don’t control what the other athletes do, but I’ve put a lot of work in through the off-season and I’m ready to push the times down,” Watson said before the event, hopeful that he would continue his streak.

Zach Hammer made it to Speed Finals as well, but after an unexpected slip, lost to Ukraine’s Hryhorii Ilchyshyn. Hammer’s fastest time throughout the competition was his first Qualification run, stopping the clock at 4.96 seconds, which was his first-ever sub-5 run in competition. Also representing Team USA for speed were Ben Jennings and Noah Bratschi who placed back to back during the Qualification round in 34th and 35th place, respectively. Finally, Aidan Goddard placed 45th.

Hunt Misses Podium by Fraction of a Second, Also Places 4th

4 women represented Team USA in Speed, with Emma Hunt advancing to Finals in the first Speed World Cup of the year.

Emma Hunt climbed at a consistent pace throughout Finals, with her closest call occurring as she raced Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw. During the second round, Hunt beat Miroslaw by 0.01 second after they both suffered similar missteps. Still, this close victory sent her to the small final, where she eventually lost to China’s Lijuan Deng by 0.042 seconds. Hunt’s fastest time during the competition was 6.39 seconds, just shy of her Pan-American record of 6.36 seconds.

Also representing Team USA for Speed in the Qualification round were Sophia Curcio in 23rd place, Isis Rothfork in 26th, and Piper Kelly in 35th.

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

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