Jesse Grupper Takes Lead Climbing Title In Briancon For First World Cup Win

Jesse Grupper competes during the men's lead qualifiers at the IFSC World Cup on May 25, 2022 in Salt Lake City.

The crowd assembled in Briancon, France, roared as U.S. climber Jesse Grupper stretched and reached up for his winning grab.
Grupper, a 25-year-old from New Jersey, won the men’s lead event with 37 points Saturday in the southeastern French city to claim his first IFSC World Cup title. Grupper finished first in the qualifying, semifinals and finals.
He achieved the winning height with more than a minute left in his climbing time in the final round.
“Still pretty much in shock. Super psyched,” Grupper, said on the livestream broadcast.
Grupper was one of two U.S. athletes to win medals in Briancon. Natalia Grossman won a bronze medal in women’s lead.
Grupper has posted career-best first-, second- and third-place world cup finishes in the last month, beginning with a third-place finish in the Innsbruck World Cup held June 26. He finished second a week later in Villars, Switzerland. Grupper is second in the men’s lead world rankings, trailing only Japan’s Taisei Homma, who finished runner-up to Grupper on Saturday.
Colin Duffy, who made his Olympic debut last year at the age of 17, finished fifth with a score of 34+.
Grossman captured a podium finish for the third time in her last four world cup competitions. She nearly reached the top of the wall and hit a score of 41, edging American teammate and 2020 Olympian Brooke Raboutou for third place.
Raboutou and Grossman are third and fifth, respectively, in the world cup lead rankings.
Reigning Olympic and multi-time world champion Janja Garnbret of Slovenia continued her dominance with another win, scoring 42+. The top four women were within 1+ points.
Climbing made its Olympic debut last year at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.