Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

The eighth stage of the IFSC Climbing World Cup was held in the Azerbaijani capital Baku on June 22-23.

The winner of the tournament among men is Russian athlete Stanislav Kokorin, while the silver and bronze went to Ukrainian athlete Yaroslav Gontaryk and Italian athlete Leonardo Gontero, respectively.

The winner among women is Russian athlete Yulia Kaplina, while Poland's Aleksandra Rudzinska and Russian athlete Yulia Levochkina claimed silver and bronze, respectively.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, President of the Azerbaijan Air and Extreme Sports Federation (FAIREX) Huseyn Bagirov thanked all the athletes who took part in the tournament and congratulated the winners. He also expressed willingness to hold the next World Cup in Baku.

President of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Marco Scolaris also expressed his gratitude to the organizers for the excellent organization of the event and congratulated the athletes. Scolaris noted that the World Cup was arranged at a high level and thanked the athletes for their brilliant performances.

The Climbing World Cup was organized by the IFSC in cooperation with the Azerbaijan Air and Extreme Sports Federation, with technical support of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Youth and Sport.

The World Cup was joined by 69 athletes from 11 countries. During the competition a new world record among women -- 8.05 seconds -- was set by Yulia Kaplina.

Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, and possibly bolts, for protection. In contrast, in traditional climbing the rock is typically devoid of fixed anchors and bolts and climbers must place removable protection as they climb. Since the need to place protection is essentially eliminated, sport climbing places an emphasis on gymnastic-like ability, strength and endurance.

National championships on sport climbing have been regularly held in Azerbaijan since 2009. Local and foreign athletes take part in the competitions.