The Carinthian, who lives in Innsbruck, showed his class in the qualification round, securing three tops and two additional zones on the five boulder problems. With 93.7 points, he placed seventh in his qualification group and confidently advanced to the top-24 semifinal as the 13th overall. Due to the weather forecast, Thursday's semifinal was moved forward.
"I'm relieved and happy that things went well. Today I had grit and fun—that hasn’t always been the case lately. I felt confident and maybe a bit more convinced than I have been recently. I'm really happy I was able to perform like that," said the 24-year-old.
Užnik hasn’t been able to perform as desired so far this season. In Prague (CZE), he made the semifinal but was dissatisfied with 22nd place. In the Innsbruck warm-up event, he missed the semifinal, finishing 29th. “The first two World Cups weren’t a disaster, but far from what I expect of myself,” Užnik reflected. “That doesn’t make the pressure any less coming into the home World Cup, but I’ve always enjoyed high-pressure situations and big events.”
Staying Cool in the Heat
On Wednesday, the athletes had to contend not only with challenging boulders but also with scorching heat of up to 35 degrees Celsius. “It was really hot. I tried everything to fight it—ice vest, ice packs, ice spray, fans. It was bearable, but you had to be tactical: not too many attempts, don’t overheat, keep the skin cool.”
The army sports athlete is hoping for another strong performance in the semifinal. “I want to go in with a similar mindset and execute again. I’m blocking out thoughts of the final for now—full focus is on the semifinal,” Užnik said. The semifinal will take place earlier than planned on Thursday (June 26), with the start moved from 1 p.m. to 9 a.m. due to a forecast of severe storms in the early afternoon.
Other KVÖ Athletes Fall Short in Qualification
Things didn’t go as hoped for the other KVÖ athletes in the boulder qualification. 19-year-old Tyrolean Raffael Gruber scored 44.3 points and placed 33rd, missing out on the semifinal, as did Jan-Luca Posch. The 27-year-old Tyrolean, Austria's most consistent male climber this season, had to settle for 54.4 points and 41st place. Nicolai’s brother, Timo Užnik, came in 43rd with 49.7 points. Julian Wimmer (29.7 points) placed 63rd, Andreas Hofherr (29.3 points) 70th. Ilja Auersperg, Paul Haider, and Julian Schrittwieser each scored 19.5 points and tied for 79th place.
Kempf Best Austrian Woman
Austria’s women were unable to compete for a spot in the semifinal. With Jessica Pilz (injury), Franziska Sterrer (injury), and Johanna Färber (retirement) all absent, Lea Kempf was the top KVÖ athlete, finishing 41st. The 20-year-old from Vorarlberg secured four zones on the five qualification problems, earning 39.7 points in total.
“Right now, I’m feeling a bit frustrated because I think there was more potential. I made some mistakes, especially in figuring out the solutions. I want to take more time to think about alternatives—especially on slabs, decide faster and climb with real conviction. That can definitely help in upcoming competitions,” said Kempf, who has recently been dealing with a shoulder injury. “At this point, my shoulder is feeling much better. In training, I can do almost all moves pain-free again.”
Among the 79 starters, Lena Schrittwieser placed 50th with 29.6 points, Sandra Lettner was 54th with 29.4 points, Katharina Bergmann (19.7 points) 62nd, Ariane Franken (19.4 points) 68th, and Sina Willy (19.4 points) 69th.
The women's semifinal and final are scheduled for Friday.
