SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Sorato Anraku captured the first world title of his career on Sunday, winning the men's boulder final at the IFSC Climbing World Championships here with a decisive top on the last problem.
The 18-year-old, competing last in the eight-man final, needed to complete the fourth and final route to secure gold. He did so on his second attempt, then lay on the mats before breaking into a wide smile.
"I knew that I had to top to get the gold medal," Anraku said. "I normally get stiff in that situation, but today I was able to enjoy my climbing. I'm so happy I was able to do that."
France's Mejdi Schalck, who had kept pace with Anraku and home favorite Lee Do-hyun by topping the first three problems, faltered on the decisive last route and settled for silver. Lee, already crowned lead champion earlier in the week, finished with bronze.
The tight contest was marked by razor-thin margins. After two problems, Anraku led Lee by just 0.2 points, with Schalck level. But a string of failed starts on the third problem left Anraku trailing Schalck by the same margin of 0.2 points, setting up the final showdown.
Schalck's hopes ended when he failed twice on the last route, leaving the door open for Anraku to clinch victory.
For China, Pan Yufei was the only one of six male climbers to advance to the semifinals. The 25-year-old, who claimed his first World Cup win in Bern earlier this season, admitted he was disappointed.
"I didn't climb well on any of the problems. It felt like I had strength but I just couldn't use it," Pan said. He revealed he had been struggling with inflammation in his right middle finger, which hampered his performance. "Our whole team is young and strong. I believe the future will be better," he added.
The Seoul championships concluded with athletes from eight countries and regions reaching the podium and one world record broken. Slovenia's Janja Garnbret took two gold medals, while Poland, China, South Korea and Japan each claimed one title. ■
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