Hugo Martín Álvarez (13th) and Guillermo Peinado Franganillo (17th) have advanced past the qualifying round of the Boulder European Championship taking place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Tomorrow, Sunday, they will compete for medals.
Spanish climbing has reasons to smile. Hugo Martín Álvarez and Guillermo Peinado Franganillo qualified this Saturday for the semifinals of the Boulder European Championship being held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as part of the Graviteo Urban Sports Festival. Both athletes made it into the top 24 of a demanding qualifying round that gathered 84 climbers from across the continent.
Outstanding performance by the Spaniards
Martín Álvarez secured a 13th place in the overall ranking, while Peinado Franganillo finished in 17th place, both within the cut-off that grants access to the decisive phase. The third Spanish representative, Manuel Antonio Pastor Sánchez, ended in 46th place and was eliminated.
The competition, which started at 08:30, presented five boulder problems that participants had to solve within a limited time. The technical difficulty and the pressure to score points marked an intense morning at the Montmeló venue.
According to the Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing (FEDME), which organized the event alongside the Federació d'Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya (FEEC), the level of participants has been extremely high, and the two Spaniards managed to keep their composure at key moments.
Leaders and rivals to beat
At the top of the table, Frenchman Mejdi Schalck and Belgian Hannes Van Duysen led the rankings with the best scores. They are followed by British climber Dayan Akhtar and Swiss Levin Straubhaar, tied for third place, and Israeli Or Mark along with Slovenian Anze Peharc in fifth. The battle for the European title is wide open.
For Barcelona fans, the chance to see the best climbers in the continent in action is an added incentive. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has transformed into a spectacular urban climbing wall that attracts hundreds of followers.
The semifinals will begin tomorrow, Sunday, at 10:00, with the men's and women's finals scheduled for 15:45 and 17:30, respectively. The awards ceremony will take place at 19:00.
Women's qualifiers and finals preview
This afternoon, starting at 16:30, the women's qualifiers will take place, completing the semifinal line-up for Sunday. The top 24 from this afternoon will join the qualified men in a day that promises strong emotions.
The Graviteo Urban Sports Festival has turned the Circuit into a hub of urban sports, with exhibitions of skateboarding, BMX, and, of course, climbing. For the local audience, it is a unique opportunity to see elite sports without leaving the province of Barcelona.
Those interested can check the full rankings on the official World Climbing website. Admission to the venue is free for general public areas, and the finals will be streamed live on the FEDME's YouTube channel.
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