South Korean women's sport climbing star Seo Chae-hyun (The North Face / Seoul City Hall) has won the bronze medal in the lead event at the 9th leg of the 2026 International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Climbing Series.

Competing in the women's lead final held in Koper, Slovenia on the 6th (KST), Seo scored 32+, finishing third behind Janja Garnbret of Slovenia (42+) and Brooke Raboutou of the United States (33).

Seo advanced to the semifinals in second place during the qualifiers and reached the final by placing second with a score of 45+. Although she tied with Annie Sanders of the United States (32+) in the final, she secured the bronze medal by virtue of her higher semifinal ranking.

Having won a medal in all five lead events of the World Climbing Series she has competed in this season (one silver and four bronze), Seo has brightened her prospects for a medal ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Through her management agency All That Sports, Seo said, "I am proud to have won a medal in every World Series lead event I competed in this year. I will prepare hard for the upcoming Asian Games to show a good performance."

Meanwhile, Lee Do-hyun, who competed in the men's event, finished 6th in the lead final with a score of 23.

(Photo courtesy of All That Sports, Yonhap News)