Natalia Grossman Wins Fifth Straight Bouldering World Cup

Natalia Grossman competes during the women's bouldering finals at the IFSC Climbing World Cup on May 29, 2022 in Salt Lake City. 

It’s déjà vu all over again for Natalia Grossman.  
Two weeks ago at the IFSC World Cup in Brixen, Italy, Grossman won gold in bouldering after her and Hannah Meul from Germany both finished with four tops and fours zones. Grossman edged out Meul for completing that feat in one fewer attempt.  
The 21-year-old from Boulder, Colorado, had a little more breathing room during Friday’s bouldering final in Innsbruck, Austria, as her and Meul again both finished with four tops and four zones. Grossman was able to do that in five attempts, while it took Meul seven.  
Grossman has routinely made this demanding sport look easy this season, but she did initially struggle on her third problem. After an awkward start that took over 100 seconds, she jumped into the zone, then reached the top shortly after. Once she successfully reached the zone, a smile broke out across her face, along with a slight nod of approval, as it became clear she’d stay in the lead over Muel once she reached the top.  
Grossman went into her fourth problem needing to top in two attempts, and she got it on her first try to secure another gold.   
This is the fifth-straight gold for Grossman in world cup events. Even more impressive, it extends a podium streak in all IFSC competitions that dates back to last year’s world cup in Innsbruck, when she finished 25th in lead climbing on June 26. She’s now reached the podium in 13 straight competitions, which includes bouldering and lead events.  
Amid that streak was a gold medal in bouldering and a silver medal in lead at the 2021 world championships. 
Grossman ended 2021 as the top-ranked boulder climber in the world, and that hasn’t come close to changing in 2022. She currently holds a 1,790-point lead over the second-ranked boulder climber, Miho Nonaka of Japan. Nonaka picked up a bronze in today’s competition.  
The Innsbruck world cup continues with finals for women’s and men’s lead on Sunday.