Saturday, Oct 21st.- American Jesse Grupper emerged as the clear leader in the semi-finals of boulder and lead climbing, amassing a total of 191.9 points. He outperformed his fellow American, Sean Bailey, who scored 164.2 points, and the Canadian, Sean McColl, with 152.8 points.

In Santiago 2023, the climbing competition is making its Pan American Games debut, and it has captivated spectators at the Cerrillos venue due to the spectacular and challenging nature of its two segments. The boulder discipline involves a series of lateral resistance challenges that demand extraordinary focus and dexterity, while the lead discipline features a vertical wall with a time limit of 6 minutes for completion, with points deducted for each mistake affecting the final score.

The semi-finals only allowed one Chilean climber to advance to the Monday finals, Benjamín Vargas, who secured the seventh position with 120.2 points.

"I feel good, but I need to rest and recover. After the second round, I realized some details I need to work on before the Monday final. I was the only Chilean to make it to the final, and I think it's a result of year-round training and a strong performance in the morning boulder round," said the specialist.

Sport climbing provides opportunities for the winners of each discipline to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Written by Christian Salgado; translated by Vicente Valdivia / Photosport
Photo: Sebastian Nanco / Santiago 2023 villa Photosport