Levet Wins Twice in Scotland

Sandrine Levet of France left no doubt that she was the dominant all-around competition climber of 2003, as she won both the final World Cup bouldering and difficulty (lead climbing) events in Edinburgh, Scotland. Levet won five of the six World Cup bouldering comps this year, along with two difficulty World Cups, finishing first overall in bouldering and second in lead climbing. With the 2003 World Cup season trophy already locked up, overall difficulty leader Muriel Sarkany of Belgium cruised to fourth place in Edinburgh. Olga Bibik of Russia was second in the Scottish bouldering comp, and Vera Kotasova of the Czech Republic was third. In the difficulty event, Chloé Minoret of France was second, and Slovenian Maja Vidmar was third. Lucy Creamer was the top Brit, finishing ninth. Among the men, Jérôme Meyer of France sealed his overall victory in World Cup bouldering with a win in Edinburgh. Russian Salavat Rakhmetov was second, and the rising star Keita Mogaki of Japan finished third. In men’s difficulty climbing, Alex Chabot of France coasted to the overall victory with a fourth-place finish in Edinburgh. Overall runner-up Ramón Julián, already mathematically eliminated from the year-end title, struggled to finish 26th. However, his countryman Patxi Usobiaga took the victory in Edinburgh, with Frenchmen Mickael Fuselier and Sylvain Millet finishing second and third. Steve McClure finished tops among the British climbers, at 15th place. American Vadim Vinokur was 24th — the same place as his final World Cup standing for the year. American Cody Roth, who did not climb in Scotland, was ranked 26th for the 2003 season.