South Korea's Lee Do-hyun won a silver medal in men's bouldering at the opening event of the 2026 IFSC World Climbing Series.
Lee scored 69.6 points in the final on Sunday in Keqiao, Shaoxing, in China's Zhejiang province, finishing second behind Sorato Anraku of Japan, who posted 84.4 points. Mejdi Schalck of France took bronze with 59.8.
The International Federation of Sport Climbing renamed its World Cup series to the World Climbing Series in December, with 2026 marking the inaugural season under the new title. The first event of the season featured only the bouldering discipline.
Lee advanced to the semifinals in first place alongside Chun Jong-won after both topped all problems in qualifying with 124.9 points. In the semifinals, Lee placed fourth with 69.9 points, while Chun finished eighth with 44.5, sending both into the final.
In the final, Lee topped two of four problems (Nos. 3 and 4) to secure second place. Anraku topped three problems (Nos. 1, 3 and 4) to take the win. Chun finished eighth overall.
Lee has been in strong form, having won the men's bouldering title at the Asian Climbing Championships, which concluded April 12.
In women's bouldering, Seo Chae-hyun finished 27th in qualifying with 64.2 points and did not advance to the final. Oh Ga-young (54.7 points, 33rd) and Noh Hee-joo (24.9 points, 51st) also fell short of the final round.
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed.)
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