IFSC Boulder Worldcup 2016 Munich

All the necessary ingredients for an atmospheric weekend of bouldering: spectacular climbing action, acrobatic movement, wild dynos and 5000 excited spectators. It’s not for nothing that the Boulder Worldcup in Munich is the most popular event in the international calendar: the atmosphere in the stadium is simply unique. In 2015 over 200 starting athletes made for an absolute record number of participants – never before had so many athletes signed up for a Worldcup. This year again the chances are high that German climbers will have some say in the finals. A Worldcup victory on home soil in Munich is high on the tick list of Germany’s best boulderer, Jan Hojer from Frankfurt. The Worldcup overall winner from 2014 and runner-up in 2015 has his sights set on another place on the overall Worldcup podium. Local heroine Monika Retschy (DAV München/Oberland) has already proven that she can climb with the best of them: in May at the Worldcup in Mumbai, India, she climbed to second place on the podium. And others from the German team have already shown this season that they can make it to the semifinals – or further. This year the position of the Boulder Worldcup is of particular symbolic importance: a few days before the Worldcup finals in Munich, the IOC-Session in Rio de Janeiro will decide whether climbing should become an official event in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In the case of a positive outcome, we won’t only be celebrating with the overall winners of the Boulder Worldcup, but also celebrating the admission of climbing into the circle of Olympic sports. And all that in an Olympic stadium – what could possibly be better?!