Italy's Angelika Rainer powers her way into the lead (Day 1: Saas Fee, Switzerland)

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Climbersdoing a route preview (Photo: UIAA)

Russian climber Maria Tolokonina was in tears after her qualification climb on Day 1 of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour stop in Saas Fee, Switzerland.

The Russian champion who came second to Angelika Rainer as the overall leader in last year’s UIAA Ice Climbing Tour will qualify for the semi-finals despite a less than stellar performance. What worries her and others is how their final standing in the semi-finals might be affected if they end up tied with somebody who has a better time-score from the qualification round.

Women: Lead Qualification Results (Semi-finals 08:45 Saturday, 18 January 2013)

1. Angelika Rainer (Italy)
2. Anna Gallyamova (Russia)
3. Woon Sheon Shin (Korea)

Full results here

Men: Speed Qualification Results (Finals at 21:00 Friday, 18 January 2013)

1. Pavel Batushev (Russia)
2. Alexey Tomilov (Russia)
3. Egor Trapeznikov (Russia)

Full results here.

There were strong performances by Anna Gallyamova, Woon Seon Shin, Liudmilla Badalyan (Russia) and Petra Klinger (Switzerland). Klinger is fresh from her victory in the Lead (under 22) competition in Saas Grund where the first UIAA Ice Climbing Youth World Championships was recently held.

But it was Rainer who won the Lead last week in Cheongsong, Korea, who was fast and strong and powered here way to the front of the pack.

Anna Gallyamova, who is in second place behind Rainer, stayed long-enough to watch Rainer climb before deciding to head outside to enjoy the bright sunshine outside and the stunning views of the Swiss Alps.

In the lead qualifications, climbers have up to six minutes to get to the top of a new route prepared for this year’s Saas Fee competition.
Another strong climber who was upset was Lucie Hrozova who also fell. Hrozova like Tolokonina heads to the semi-finals but with a slight handicap.