The last stage of the Lead World Cup held last weekend in Kranj, Slovenia, was won by home-athlete Mina Markovic who has now won her second overall World Cup. In the men’s event Austria’s Jakob Schubert won the Kranj stage while second-placed Sachi Amma from Japan won his first World Cup title.

The final stage of the Lead World Cup 2012 went down to the wire on Sunday 18 November in Kranj, Slovenia. After Saturday’s Semifinal, the 2012 Lead World Cup title was still up for grabs and only a win – in both the male and female category – would ensure overall victory.

The male athletes competed first, up an 8b+/8c route which involved a long series of intense power moves. While all eyes were on Sachi Amma and Ramon Julian Puigblanque, it was Austrian Jakob Schubert (third from last to compete) who captured the spectators’ attention with an unstoppable climb which propelled him to a few holds from the top, worthy of his World Championship victory this year. Despite his initial indecision Sachi Amma managed to equal the highpoint reached by Norway’s Magnus Midtbø and then grab the next hold before his inexorable fall which placed him provisional second.

Conscious of what was at stake, last to climb Ramon Julian Puigblanque checked out the route extremely carefully before setting off. After having resolved the long reach with a spectacular dyno to hold 16 (which had got the better of Korea’s Hyunbin Min), Puigblanque continued upwards only to down-climb back again, undecided. And just like in Paris this year, this indecisiveness and perhaps his nervousness revealed to be fatal for the Catalan champion and he soon fell, handing the title to Sachi Amma who thereby won his first ever Lead World Cup.

In the women’s competition various athletes fell off the 28th hold, exiting the roof which required fresh forearms and a foothold on the left which wasn’t that obvious. Maja Vidmar, celebrating her tenth competition season, sent this section with ease and got to the difficult reach towards a sloper. Young Momoka Oda from Japan reached this same hold as did Mina Markovic, third from last to climb and provisional first thanks to her earlier Semifinal result. Dinara Fakhritdinova was one of the only athletes to top out in the Semifinal yet she wasted an excellent chance of her second win this season by making a mistake and falling low. Last out was Jain Kim. Climbing elegantly and in control, the Korean reached the enormous volume and the route’s second crux but, just when she was a mere hold away from Mina Markovic’s highpoint, she fell during a fatal reach to finish fourth, behind Mina, Momoka Oda and Maja Vidmar.

For Mina Markovic the 2012 season resulted in an extraordinary bounty of titles which include her third stage victory, first place in the Lead World Cup and also first place in the Combined ranking (thanks to 4th place in the Bouldering World Cup). Jain Kim’s results are certainly just as outstanding, with three stage wins, second place in both the Lead World Cup and the Combined Ranking, as well as second place in the Lead World Championship and first in the Combined ranking. A part from this, 2012 marked the return of Johanna Ernst (third in both the World Cup and World Championship), two new athletes capable of victory (Momoka Oda and Hélène Janicot) and an excellent end of season for veteran Maja Vidmar who had battled hard against injuries.

In the men’s event, as mentioned the 2012 Lead World Cup winner was Sachi Amma, while the Combined title went to Jakob Schubert.

Result ninth and final stage of the Lead World Cup 2012, Kranj, Slovenia – Men
1. Jakob Schubert (AUT) 43+
2. Sachi Amma (JPN) 34
3. Magnus Midtbø (NOR) 33+
4. Jorg Verhoeven
5. Thomas Ballet
6. Romain Desgranges
7. Ramón Julian Puigblanque
8. Hyunbin Min

Result ninth and final stage of the Lead World Cup 2012, Kranj, Slovenia – Women
1. Mina Markovic (SLO) 37+ (39+ in Semifinal)
2. Momoka Oda (JPN) 37+ (38+ in Semifinal)
3. Maja Vidmar (SLO) 33+ (37 in Semifinal)
4. Jain Kim
5. Akiyo Noguchi
6. Johanna Ernst
7. Evgenia Malamid
8. Christine Schranz
9. Dinara Fakhritdinova

Lead World Cup 2012 final standings – Men
1. Sachi Amma (JPN) 600
2. Ramon Julian Puigblanque (ESP) 568
3. Jakob Schuber (AUT) 538

Lead World Cup 2012 final standings – Women
1. Mina Markovic (SLO) 675
2. Jain Kim (KOR) 617
3. Johanna Ernst (AUT) 522

Combined ranking 2012 – Men
1. Jakob Schubert (AUT) 737
2. Sean McColl (CAN) 681
3. Sachi Amma (JPN) 499

Combined ranking 2012 – Women
1. Mina Markovic (SLO) 764
2. Jain Kim (KOR) 631
3. Akiyo Noguchi (JPN) 590

Congratulations to all the athletes who delivered all together high class and exiting events to us during the last couple of month.

Well, that’s it for this season, stay tuned and see you end of march 2013 to the beginning of the IFSC Boulder Worldcup in Chongqing China.