South Korean climber Lee Do-hyun (Seoul City Hall, The North Face) redeemed himself after a scoreless first problem to win the silver medal in men's bouldering at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
On September 30, at the Port Messe Nagoya Exhibition Hall, Lee scored 49.7 points in the final, placing second among eight competitors.
The gold medal went to Japan's Anraku Sorato, who scored 74.5 points, while Japan's Narasaki Tomoa took home the bronze with 44.9 points.
This marks Lee's second consecutive appearance on the Asian Games podium, following his silver medal in the combined event (lead and bouldering) at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
Lee advanced to the finals after scoring 99.7 points in the semifinals, finishing first among 15 competitors, just 0.4 points ahead of Anraku (99.3 points).
Bouldering consists of four different problems, each 4 to 5 meters high, which climbers must complete within four minutes. A climber earns 25 points for a successful ascent and 10 points for reaching the intermediate zone. Each failed attempt deducts 0.1 points.
The final did not start smoothly for Lee. As the last climber to compete, he failed to score on the first problem, not even reaching the zone.
However, he rebounded starting with the second problem. After a fall, he successfully completed it on his second attempt, earning 24.9 points. He added 24.8 points on the third problem after two falls, moving him up to second place.
On the final fourth problem, an opportunity arose when Anraku, who climbed before Lee, also failed to reach the zone and scored zero. If Lee scored more than 24.8 points, he could secure the gold medal. In the case of a tie, Lee would have the advantage due to his higher semifinal ranking.
Unfortunately, Lee also failed to reach the zone on the fourth problem, resulting in all eight finalists scoring zero on that attempt.
Ultimately, the first problem determined the rankings. Anraku completed three of the four problems, excluding the fourth.
Chun Jong-won (Daegu City Sports Council, The North Face), the inaugural gold medalist in men's bouldering at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, finished fifth with 30 points. He scored 10 points on each of the first three problems but did not add any points on the fourth.
Starting from this event, bouldering and lead climbing are held as separate competitions. Lee will again aim for his first individual gold medal in the lead event.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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