On the weekend the XXIII Olympic Winter Games commence some 120 kilometres further north in PyeongChang, the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup heads to Cheongsong, one of the traditional stops on its World Tour.
As the penultimate round of the 2018 World Tour, results in Cheongsong are likely to have a significant bearing on the final classifications when verdicts are decided during the season finale in Kirov, Russia from 2-4 March.
The World Cup event in Cheongsong provides the perfect stage for the UIAA to showcase the sport in the home country of the Games, itself an ice climbing hotbed. For the 21 South Korean athletes registered for the event – which comprises the Asian Championships – Cheongsong has an extra significance.
In the women’s lead competition South Korean athletes Woonseon Shin and Hannarai Song have claimed the three gold medals on offer so far this season. They currently occupy first and third position in the standings with Russia’s Maria Tolokonina also in strong contention. Song has a 100% record this season claiming golds in Saas-Fee and Rabenstein before missing last weekend’s competition in Hohhot, China which was won by Shin.
The men’s lead event is set to see the return to the World Tour of the charismatic and popular HeeYong Park, defending World Champion and World Tour winner. Park is a perennial winner in Cheongsong. His presence will add extra edge to a competition which Iran’s Mohammadreza Korouyeh Safdarian currently leads. His advantage over Russia’s Maxim Tomilov is a mere five points.
The Lead semi-finals take place on Saturday 10 February, 15:20-17:40 local time. The Finals will be held the following day from 14:00-16:00.
The speed competitions are equally tight. Russia’s Anton Nemov heads the men’s competition with an 18-point margin over compatriot Igor Spitsyn. Ekaterina Feoktistova’s lead in the women’s rankings is a mere five points over Ekaterina Koschcheeva. The speed finals take place on Sunday 11 February, 08:30-11:00.
Livestreaming of the semi-finals and finals will be available on the UIAA Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels as well as on the Olympic Channel and on livestreaming media partner EXTREME.
The full programme can be viewed here.
*Time given is local time. GMT+9
Subscribe here for alerts about livestreaming from the UIAA YouTube Channel.
Results, starting lists and rankings are available here.
Pictures from the 2018 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour are available on the UIAA Flickr channel.
UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER
UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR LIVESTREAMING PARTNERS
