While the 2026 season is not an Olympic qualifying year, many athletes are using this as a pivotal season in their training and build up for the 2028 Olympic qualifiers. This does at the same time, mean that some athletes are competing across all the World Cups and others are being more selective.
Janja Garnbret is after her 50th gold, Sam Watson is looking to reclaim his speed world record, and the Fantasy League has just hit climbing. There is lots to look forward to this World Cup season and lots at stake. Lets have a look at some of the highlights thus far.
The Prize Money
The 2026 season also came with a major cash boost. For the first time each individual medal event will have a total of €20,000 allocated in prize money. With the structure expanding to include and reward the top eight finishers in Lead and Boulder, and all Speed quarter-finalists. Overall, World Climbing has committed to a gross season total that is set to exceed €1 Million.
The cherry on the top? World Climbing has also allocated an additional €9,000 to the winners of the overall World Cup Series title. This is a huge step up from previous seasons and is made possible through the assistance and support of all Local Event Organisers (LOCs). If one thing is clear, the sport sure is growing.
The Fantasy Climbing League
Much like Football and NFL leagues, thanks to Emil and Felix Abrahamsson, the climbing 2026 season will welcome its own version of this. Emil who previously competed on the circuit as part of the Swedish National team, saw a gap for this given how often competitions do not go as expected. As the level intensifies, the holds become no-tex, and creative beta abounds – climbing podium’s often boast new and old faces. The Climbing Fantasy League that launched in April hosts both private and public leagues across all the disciplines and categories.
Emil is hopeful that this will draw more interest to Sport climbing and grow fan engagement and interest. Encouraging fans to invest in following the full season, check in on their selected athletes training, and scour previous competition results. The league format also limits how many already top performing athletes you can select, with a fixed credit system being allocated.
While Fantasy Leagues’ may raise concerns over gambling, Emil remains firm that this is not his intention and he and Felix will be monitoring the leagues first ever season debut, closely. All things considered, the Fantasy League certainly has the opportunity to create more enjoyment out of competition viewing and create investment amongst fans who may not have a national icon to follow.
The Need for Speed
The speed season officially kicked off this weekend in Wujiang, China. All I can say is – WOW. If this competition was anything to go on, we are in for one of the fastest seasons yet. According to World Climbing, this was the fastest speed qualifications ever. Both the mens and women’s cut off times have dropped significantly since Chamonix last year, with sub 5 seconds needed on the mens side and sub 7 seconds on the ladies side to make it into the final heats.
Breaking into the senior World Cups, Yicheng Zhao not only swept the competition securing a gold, he also set a new speed record. The men’s record now sits at 4.54 seconds – if you blinked, you definitely missed it! This might not have been the season start that Sam Watson was looking for, but he still rounded out the podium securing third place, behind Jianguo Long.
The ladies side was equally as impressive. After time off last season Aleksandra Kalucka came back stronger than ever, securing the first gold in an impressive time of 6.12 seconds. A time that is getting closer to Aleksandra Mirosław’s 6.03 word record. Rounding out the podium were Elizaveta Ivanova and Desak Dewi.
Going for Gold
Janja Garnbret has long since been named the G.O.A.T in climbing. Having started as a young 16 year old on the circuit, Janja heads into the 2026 season looking to achieve yet another milestone – a 50th Gold medal. In Keqiao, Janja finished in second place behind Zélia Avezou after a few too many attempts early on in the boulder finals. The competition then shifted to lead in Wujiang, where once again the finals were stacked. Coming down to count-back and a buzzer beater moment at the top of the wall, Annie Sanders clinched the victory. This left Janja with another second place finish.
While the season may not have started in fairytale fashion, Janja is not someone you bet against. The magic may not have been there in Keqiao or Wujiang but with the rest of the season still to play for, we certainly can look forward to cheering on Janja every step of the way.
Upcoming World Cups
Missed the first two stops on the World Cup circuit? Don’t worry, there’s plenty more action right around the corner. Moving away from Asia, the next stop is Salt Lake City, USA for the first Para climbing competition of the year. Followed by Bern, Switzerland and Alcobendas, Spain to wrap up the end of May.
Let us know in the comments which athletes you are excited to be following this season.
