Pan Yufei of China competes during the men's lead final at the IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2025 in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 27, 2025. (Photo by Wang Xuzhong/Xinhua)
Pan Yufei became the first Chinese climber to win the men's Boulder event at the International Federation of Sport Climbing World Cup, edging out France's Mejdi Schalck by 0.1 points on Sunday.
Pan, whose previous best finish was fifth in Prague, the Czech Republic, last weekend, overtook Schalck in the final run on M4, topping out on his second attempt to score 84.2 points.
Schalck had been in control for most of the final, topping M1, M2 and M3, but failed on M4 and finished with 84.1 points.
"It feels unreal. My mind was so empty," Pan said. "The last few years have been really tough for myself, I struggled so much and I thought I was not good enough. At the beginning of the season it was not so good, but this time I just wanted to enjoy myself."
Pan finished 12th at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games but did not qualify for the final of the men's combined event, which includes both Boulder and Lead climbing.
(Cover image: Xinhua)
