Japan's Sorato Anraku came first and Tomoa Narasaki second in the boulder round of the men's sport climbing semifinal at the Paris Olympics on Monday, making sound starts ahead of the lead round in two days.
A 17-year-old Olympic debutant, Anraku, who topped last year's World Cup rankings both in boulder and lead, showed his abundant talent at Le Bourget Climbing Venue where he was the only climber to top two out of four problems.
Anraku needed two attempts to scale the first before flashing the second en route to scoring 69.0 points, taking a sizable lead over Narasaki's 54.4. Briton Toby Roberts sits third on 54.1, followed by Sam Avezou of France who logged 49.2.
"I was intent on climbing as usual. That's exactly what I did," said Anraku, who was the only climber to scale the second boulder. "I had a good rhythm with my first and second...I'll look to use minimum energy on the lead, while hedging risk too."
Narasaki came fourth at the COVID-19 hit 2021 Tokyo Games when the combined event also included the speed discipline which has been separated into its own event in Paris.
The 28-year-old could not quite top his first three problems in Paris but raised his standings by solving the fourth on his third attempt.
"I'd liked to have racked up a few more points," Narasaki said. "It's big that I've managed to overcome the last problem."
"I see myself as a challenger here...It's fun to perform in front of the crowd."
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