French teenager Mejdi Schalck won the men's bouldering at sport climbing's season-opening World Cup meet in Hachioji, western Tokyo, on Sunday.
Belgian Hannes Van Duysen finished second, and Paul Jenft of France rounded out the podium on the final day of the meet at Esforta Arena.
"Very happy to win the World Cup," said the 18-year-old Schalck, a medal hopeful next year when his homeland hosts the Olympics in Paris. "It's a big achievement to win my second World Cup (event). All the World Cups count for Olympic qualification, but my big goal is the world championships in August."
Among Japanese climbers, Kokoro Fujii and Sorato Anraku were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the six-man final. Tomoa Narasaki crashed out in the semifinals and settled for 10th place.
