Israel’s Yonatan Katz took gold in Salt Lake City, USA, topping the men’s final on the last boulder in only his second appearance at the World Climbing Series level.
After flashing two zones and topping boulder three on his first attempt, Katz trailed Great Britain’s Max Milne heading into the tricky coordination problem. None of the finalists before him had managed to reach the zone.
The challenge was steep for the second-time finalist, but Katz didn’t let it faze him. On his fourth attempt, he wowed the crowd by reaching the zone and topping the boulder for 69.7 points. All he could do now was wait for Milne.
Katz had already secured a medal, sitting atop the standings with only Milne and Japan’s Rei Kawamata left to climb. Even a flash from Kawamata wouldn’t be enough to overtake him, leaving gold or silver as the only possibilities.
Kawamata was next, reaching the zone in three attempts to secure bronze with 54.2 points. With only Milne left to climb, the fight for gold was on.
Milne, sitting on 59.7 points, needed to flash the zone to draw level on points and take the lead on countback, thanks to his semi-final performance. However, the Brit failed to reach the zone, leaving his score unchanged and settling for silver as Katz claimed the win.
Speaking immediately after his gold was confirmed, Katz said: “I don’t know how it feels, it’s probably going to take a while to sink in. Two days ago I made my childhood dream come true when I made a World Climbing Series semis.
“Today, I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity in semis, and I found my way into the final. My goal was never to just participate in a final it was to compete in one so I was going to give it my all as it could be my last ever one so I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could.”
Reflecting on the final boulder that secured his victory, Katz said: “The last move is something I’ve been working on, I mean I’m good at coordination, but that swing move specifically I’ve been working on for like one or two years so when i saw it i knew exactly what I needed to do.
“In iso I was walking around talking to myself saying ‘I need to get to the last move. I need to get to the last move’, but I didn’t think I’d only have one chance. I just turned off my brain, went for it, and managed to grab the jug and heard the crowd, then I screamed as loud as I could.”
Katz’s victory makes him only the second Israeli climber in any discipline to win a medal at the World Climbing Series, following Alex Khazanov in 2018. Behind Katz, Milne and Kawamata on the podium was Japan’s Sohta Amagasa, who scored 44.4 points.
France’s Max Bertone finished fifth with 35 points, followed by Israel’s Or Mark, who scored 34.8 points in his first-ever final. Great Britain’s Dayan Akhtar placed seventh with 34.5 points, while Germany’s Elias Krüger Arriagada finished eighth with 19.2 points.