This past week, Salt Lake City welcomed the World Climbing Pan America Series, bringing together more than 495 athletes from 10 countries to compete for podium finishes across Boulder, Lead, and Speed. Competition kicked off on July 25 with Boulder Qualifications and wrapped up on July 28 with an exciting Lead Finals, showcasing four days of world-class climbing and fast-paced competition.

Grupper Claims Lead Gold, Team USA Sweeps the Men’s Podium

Team USA’s Jesse Grupper climbed with confidence throughout the competition, earning three tops across Qualifications, Semifinals, and Finals. With just 10 seconds remaining on the clock, Grupper reached the final hold and clipped in to secure the top, sending the Salt Lake City crowd into celebration.

Team USA completed a dominant performance by sweeping the podium. Dillon “Bob” Countryman claimed silver after reaching hold 44+, while Nathan Sato rounded out the podium with bronze after a climb to 33.

Both Valentina Aguado (ARG) and Anja Kohler (BRA) get to the Top in Women’s Lead Final

The women’s Lead final came down to the very last climbers, with both Valentina Aguado (ARG) and Anja Köhler (BRA) successfully topping the route in an exciting finish. Aguado ultimately claimed the gold medal, while Köhler earned silver after countback.

Team USA’s Zoe Yi put together an impressive performance of her own, reaching 44+ and finishing just one spot shy of the podium in fourth place.

Hammer Sprints to Speed Gold

Zach Hammer put on a commanding performance throughout the Speed competition, posting consistently fast times from Qualifications through Finals. In the gold medal race, Hammer stopped the clock at 5.04 seconds to defeat Canada’s Dylan Le (5.41) and secure the top step of the podium.

Team USA added another medal in the men’s event as Ben Jennings captured bronze with a winning run of 5.81 seconds over fellow American Joshua Jan, who finished in 6.07.

Team USA Goes One-Two in Women’s Speed

The women’s Speed competition saw Team USA take control of the podium. Piper Kelly raced to the gold medal with a winning time of 7.42 seconds, while Micaela Patajo followed closely behind to earn silver in 8.12.

Lily Staudt narrowly missed out on a podium finish after going head-to-head against Canada’s Aleya Morin, finishing fourth and capping off a strong showing for US athletes.

Chi Wins Gold in Men’s Boulder, Finn Captures Silver

US athlete Auggie Chi gets 3 tops in Men’s Boulder Finals, leading him to victory with a score of 84.8. Chi topped three of the four boulders and secured a zone on the fourth to finish comfortably clear of the field. Finn followed with 69.7, topping two and zoning all four for silver. Canada’s Matthew Rodriguez took bronze with 59.3. American Cruz Padilla narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth with 54.8. Beyond the podium, the US athletes stacked the final. Joshua Gerhardt, Ben Hanna, and Landers Gaydosh all reached the final round, giving the US a commanding presence across the last stage of competition. For Gaydosh, it marked his first appearance at a world event, a debut shared with silver medalist Finn, an up-and-comer whose podium finish signals a climber on the rise.

Costanza, Sanders Dominate in Women’s Boulder

Temperatures reached a boiling point in Salt Lake City but that did little to deter Melina Costanza who walked through this field on her way to gold. Costanza flashed nine walls and topped every one she faced except for her very last one in the Final, but it did not matter at that point. Costanza looked very at ease, moving through each wall with almost a surgical precision. Equally as impressive was Nekaia Sanders, who finished with a Finals score of 59.7 on her way to silver. Canadian Anna Kelley rounded out the podium, taking home bronze with a 49.9. Kelley was the lone international competitor in the Finals field with 7 of the 8 spots held by US climbers.

Full results from the World Climbing Pan American Series Salt Lake City 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.