The Lead semi-final of the IFSC Climbing World Cup Innsbruck 2025 lived up to the high expectations on Saturday evening, following two thrilling days of Boulder finals. Two Austrians, Mattea Pötzi and Julia Fišer, made it into the round of the top 24 women, ultimately finishing in 13th and 17th place respectively. In the men’s competition, Timo Užnik was the best Austrian, placing 34th.
Mattea Pötzi climbed with confidence right from qualification, securing her semi-final spot in 10th place. There, the reigning Austrian Lead Champion from Carinthia delivered another strong performance, reaching hold 34+ and finishing 13th overall.
“I definitely have what it takes to make a final—that was clear from my qualification round. But today, I was just missing that tiny extra bit,” said Pötzi after her climb. “Still, I’m satisfied. I managed to shake off most of my nerves in qualification, and this time I could really enjoy the semi-final. Maybe I’ll make it into the finals at one of the next three World Cups.”
For her teammate Julia Fišer, qualification was much tighter. She spent a nerve-racking wait on the proverbial “bubble,” but the anxious wait paid off. The Tyrolean squeezed into the semi-final, where she delivered her best performance of the season so far, improving significantly to finish 17th with 31 holds.
“I’m really happy overall. Even though the route wasn’t exactly my style, I managed to find my rhythm and give it my all—that makes me proud,” said Fišer afterward. The home crowd gave her an extra push: “When I’m climbing in front of a home crowd, I can always dig a little deeper.”
And then there was Janja Garnbret. After claiming victory in the Boulder competition on Friday, the Slovenian superstar was unstoppable in Lead as well. With an impressive climb reaching hold 44+, the two-time Olympic champion topped the semi-final rankings and heads into Sunday’s grand final as the clear favorite, to thunderous applause from the crowd.
Ines Schwaiger delivered a strong World Cup debut, finishing 29th, followed by Magdalena Kompein in 31st, Eva-Maria Hammelmüller in 37th, and Sarah Feichtenschlager in 61st.
Užnik Best Austrian Among the Men
While Mattea Pötzi and Julia Fišer celebrated semi-final spots on the women’s side, the men’s Lead qualification didn’t quite go as hoped for the Austrians. With two-time Olympic bronze medalist Jakob Schubert absent, Timo Užnik finished as Austria’s top male athlete in 34th place.
“My first route went quite well—I could push almost to my max. The wait between climbs was long, but I was looking forward to the second route. I knew I had a good shot at the semi-final. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. I attacked it a bit too hastily and made some mistakes. At this level, every mistake costs you dearly—to move on, you really have to climb almost perfectly,” summarized the climber from Carinthia.
Among a field of 97 starters, Felix Mader finished 45th, Stefan Scherz placed 52nd, Johannes Hofherr came 68th, and Matthäus Kathan ended the competition in 87th place.
