What Are the Chances!? Two Women Win Gold at World Cup - Gripped Magazine (2025)

The first women’s Lead World Cup final of the 2025 season wrapped up today in Wujiang, China, and its final result was unprecedented. Chaehyun Seo of South Korea and Erin McNeice of Great Britain ended the competition tied for first, each winning a gold medal.

How exactly did this strange result occur? The two athletes both fell after reaching hold #41 on the women’s final route. When two (or more) athletes reach the same spot on the finals route, the tie is broken by “countback” to the semi-finals round. If the athletes are also tied in the semi-finals round, there’s another countback to the qualification round. In this case, Seo and McNeice had the exact same scores in the qualification round, semi-final, and final. In other words, they tied in all three rounds.

According to the IFSC World Cup rulebook, the next means of separation for breaking a tie is the time spent on the wall in the final round. Unbelievably, both Seo and McNeice had the exact same climbing time of 4 minutes and 26 seconds. With no other tiebreaking method in the rulebook, Seo and McNeice were both deemed Wujiang Lead World Cup Champion, each earning a gold medal. While there have been ties for first place in past World Cup events, this appears to be the first time there’s been a tie for gold since the IFSC instituted the climbing time tiebreaker rule.

With Seo and McNeice both placing first, no silver medal was awarded in Wujiang. Team USA’s Annie Sanders placed closely behind Seo and McNeice, falling reaching for hold #40. She earned a bronze medal for the result. Laura Rogora placed 4th, falling moving towards hold 35.

Seo has been one of the top competitors on the World Cup lead wall since 2019. In her rookie season, she won four golds, one silver, and one bronze, winning the overall Lead World Cup 2019 season. In 2021, she placed first at the Lead World Championships in Moscow. In 2022, she placed second overall for the season. Her Wujiang medal is her first World Cup gold since that 2019 rookie season.

McNeice has been on the World Cup circuit since 2022. This is her first time being on a Lead World Cup podium. She won bronze at last week’s Boulder World Cup in Keqiao. Last summer, she competed alongside Seo in the Paris Olympics, placing fifth overall.

It’s important to mention that many of the world’s best comp climbers didn’t participate in the Wujiang Lead World Cup event. Janja Garnbret and Brooke Raboutou are sitting out much of the 2025 World Cup season. Natalia Grossman is out recovering from knee surgery. Ai Mori didn’t compete as she’s currently focusing on her studies. Jessy Pilz was registered for Wujiang but had to cancel due to a finger injury.

Final Results

1. Erin McNeice (GBR) 41 (4:26)
1. Chaehyun Seo (KOR) 41 (4:26)
3. Annie Sanders (USA) 39+
4. Laura Rogora (ITA) 34+
5. Oceania Mackenzie (AUS) 34+
6. Yuetong Zhang (CHN) 33+
7. Hélène Janicot (FRA) 33+
8. Anna Maria Apel (GER) 21

Wujiang Lead World Cup finals livestream replay

Check out the latest buyer's guide: