Young American Climber Clinches IFSC Boulder World Cup Finals in Keqiao

Originally posted on Outdoors on SI | By Maria Aldrich | Last updated Apr 21, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Keqiao has now come to an end. Marking the first World Cup event of 2025, Keqiao was the perfect start to the season. Young athletes took center stage as they worked through each challenging boulder problem. For the first event of the season, the competitors were prepared and excelled.

One of the most impressive performances of the competition came from 17-year-old American climber Annie Sanders. After leaving her mark on the Seoul World Cup in 2024 with first place, expectations were high for the young star. Needless to say, she exceeded those expectations and once again secured the victory.

Having earned a total of 54.7 points in the Keqiao final, it was clear that Sanders had dominated her opponents. Second place went to French climber Oriane Bertone, who landed 44.9 points, and third place was awarded to British climber Erin McNeice with 44.8 points. The three talented athletes shared the podium following the intense event.

Champion American Climber Clinches IFSC Boulder World Cup Finals

Three Japanese athletes—Mao Nakamura, Miho Nonaka, and Melody Sekikawa—followed closely behind McNiece, displaying a consistent and steady hot streak for their nation.

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The outlook looked rather uncertain toward the beginning of the competition, as Sanders placed sixth (84.3 points) in the qualification round and third (69.3 points) in the semi-finals. However, her smooth progression throughout each event looked promising—her tenacity certainly paid off.
While this is only the first stop of the World Cup series, athletes are already fired up and ready to hit the ground running in competitions to come.

Next up on the 2025 IFSC schedule is the Lead and Speed World Cup, which will take place in Wujiang, People's Republic of China, on April 25-27. The second boulder World Cup of the season is on the calendar for May 16-18 in Curitiba, Brazil. Athletes are expected to continue putting on quite a performance on the wall as they go head-to-head for a chance at taking home gold.

This article first appeared on Outdoors on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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