Ai Mori became the first Japanese climber to win a lead world championship by taking the women's competition Sunday in Bern, Switzerland, where compatriot Sorato Anraku fell just short of completing a sweep for Japan after claiming silver in the men's event.
Mori, 19, beat Slovenia's Olympic combined champion Janja Garnbret to the gold medal thanks to her higher semifinal score after both topped the course in the final. The 2021 world champion, South Korea's Seo Chae-hyun, won bronze.
"More than winning the championship, I was happy to complete the climb," Mori said. "My relief turned to happiness, and after that it gradually began to sink in that I had won."
Having made a big impact in his debut season, 16-year-old sensation Anraku came within inches of the gold medal at his first world championship.
Austria's Jakob Schubert secured his fourth straight world title by touching above Anraku's highest hold in the final to score 48+ against the Japanese high schooler's 48. Germany's Alexander Megos was third.
"My pace was off from the bottom and it wouldn't have been strange if I'd fallen in the middle, but I somehow managed to get through it," Anraku said.
With qualification for the 2024 Paris Games at stake, Anraku will contest the men's combined competition from Wednesday along with former world champion Tomoa Narasaki, while Mori and Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Miho Nonaka will be among the women's field.