Anraku and Sanders Dominate as 2026 World Climbing Series Standings Take Shape

The 2026 World Climbing Series—the first season under the sport's newly rebranded international governing body—has reached a mid-season boiling point. Following a dramatic five-day stop in Prague, the global standings are beginning to solidify, defined by historic winning streaks, unprecedented double victories, and a massive breakthrough for Southeast Asian climbing.[5]

As the circuit prepares to move to Innsbruck, Austria, later this month, two teenage phenomenons have effectively placed a stranglehold on the leaderboards: 19-year-old Japanese star Sorato Anraku and 18-year-old American sensation Annie Sanders.[1][2][4]

Sanders delivered the defining performance of the women's season thus far in the Czech capital, executing a flawlessly rare "Prague Double" by winning gold in both the Boulder and Lead disciplines. The dual victory cements her status at the absolute pinnacle of the sport's current era.[1]

By topping the Boulder podium and subsequently climbing to hold 37 on a fiercely difficult Lead route, Sanders became only the third woman in the history of the sport to win two disciplines at the same event, joining the legendary ranks of France's Sandrine Levet and Slovenia's Janja Garnbret.[1]

The American's dominance has completely reshaped the women's standings. Sanders now holds a commanding lead in the overall Women's Lead rankings, while simultaneously closing the gap on Great Britain's Erin McNeice, who currently sits atop the Women's Boulder leaderboard.[1][5]

On the men's side, Sorato Anraku is currently operating in a league entirely of his own. The Japanese prodigy arrived in Prague having already won the first three Boulder events of the season in Keqiao, Bern, and Madrid.[2][4]

In a nail-biting final defined by highly technical slab coordination, Anraku flashed the final zone to secure a score of 55.0, narrowly edging out South Korea's Dohyun Lee and France's Mejdi Schalck. The victory etched Anraku's name into the record books as the first male climber ever to win four consecutive Boulder World Cup events in a single season.[2]

Anraku's historic streak gives him an insurmountable cushion in the Men's Boulder standings. Having already won the overall Boulder title in his 2023 rookie season and defending it through 2025, the 19-year-old is now on the verge of an unprecedented fourth consecutive overall crown.[2][4]

While the Boulder standings went exactly to script, the Men's Lead leaderboard experienced a seismic shock courtesy of Indonesia's Putra Tri Ramadani.[1][3]

In a mesmerizing finals performance, Ramadani conquered a grueling headwall to reach hold 43, easily surpassing Japan's Neo Suzuki and Austrian veteran Jakob Schubert. The victory marked a monumental milestone: Ramadani became the first Indonesian athlete in history to win a World Climbing Series gold medal outside of the speed climbing discipline.[1][3][7]

Ramadani's triumph injects thrilling new blood into the Men's Lead standings. While Spain's Alberto Ginés López maintains his position as the overall series leader, Ramadani's sudden surge proves that the traditional European and Japanese dominance in the discipline is actively being challenged.[1][3][5]

With China's Jianguo Long and Poland's Aleksandra Miroslaw currently pacing the Speed climbing leaderboards, the 2026 World Climbing Series now turns its attention to the iconic outdoor walls of Innsbruck. If Prague was about establishing dominance, the upcoming Austrian leg will be about defending it against a fiercely motivated global field.[1][5]