In less than ten days, the world’s best young Sport Climbers will descend upon southeast China to ascend the walls of the IFSC World Youth Championships Guangzhou 2016!

The IFSC World Youth Championships occur annually and attract hundreds of elite Athletes from around the globe. Participants are divided into categories by age (14-15 years in Youth B; 16-17 years in Youth A; 18-19 years in Juniors) and climb in the Bouldering, Lead and Speed disciplines. This year, the next generation of Sport Climbing talent will compete in Guangzhou, China, on November 7th-13th.

High Expectations
All eyes will be on Janja Garnbret in the Youth A category. Since claiming Gold in Bouldering and Lead at the IFSC World Youth Championships Arco 2015, the seventeen-year-old from Slovenia has gone on to become world champion at the IFSC World
Championships Paris 2016 and clinch the IFSC Lead World Cup 2016 Overall title. A victory in Guangzhou would add to the legacy of her historic 2016 season.
Ashima Shiraishi of the United States was equally impressive in Arco last year, completing every climb in Bouldering and Lead for Youth B. At just fifteen years old, Shiraishi is already considered one of the best in the sport. Expect more of the same great climbing from the young superstar this year. The Juniors category will also be exciting for the Females. Arco runner-up Miho Nonaka of Japan soared to a new level this year, finishing second at Paris and second in the IFSC Bouldering World Cup 2016 rankings. She will look to unseat Serbian Stasa
Gejo, who won Gold last year and gave strong performances at Paris and the IFSC Bouldering World Cup Munich 2016. In Lead, keep an eye on  Kajsa Rosen of Sweden, Gold medallist at the European Youth Championships Mitterdorf 2016.

(Keep reading on MountainBlog Asia)