How did Seo Chae-hyun win bronze in the women’s boulder event at the Asian Games?

Seo finished with 70 points and placed third after a tiebreaker over Luo Zhilu of China. Her higher semifinals score of 100 points gave her the edge.

Who won the women’s boulder medal race at the Asian Games in Nagoya?

Zhang Yuetong of China won gold with 85 points, and Ai Mori of Japan earned silver with 84.8 points. Seo Chae-hyun took bronze with 70 points.

Sport climber Seo Chae-hyun wins bronze for 2nd straight medal

Q: What are Seo Chae-hyun’s strengths in sport climbing compared with boulder?

Seo is considered stronger in lead than in boulder. She is No. 2 in the lead world rankings but No. 30 in the boulder rankings, and the women’s lead competition was set to begin Friday and end Saturday.

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Summary

Sport climber Seo Chae-hyun won bronze in the women’s boulder event at the Asian Games on Thursday in Nagoya, giving her a second straight Asian Games medal. She finished third with 70 points, behind China’s Zhang Yuetong and Japan’s Ai Mori. Seo advanced on a tiebreaker after matching Luo Zhilu’s score in the final.

Key Facts

Seo Chae-hyun scored 70 points in the women’s boulder final and placed third.
Zhang Yuetong of China won gold with 85 points, and Ai Mori of Japan took silver with 84.8 points.
Seo won the tiebreaker over Luo Zhilu of China because she had the higher semifinals score of 100 points.
The final took place at Portmesse Nagoya Exhibition Hall in Nagoya, central Japan.
Seo is ranked No. 2 in the lead world rankings and No. 30 in the boulder rankings.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 1, 2026 8:41 pm KST

Seo Chae-hyun attempts the fourth problem during the women’s bouldering final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Nagoya International Exhibition Hall in Nagoya, Japan, Thursday (local time). Yonhap

Sport climber Seo Chae-hyun won her second straight Asian Games medal on Thursday with bronze in the women's boulder event.

Seo finished third with 70 points, as Zhang Yuetong of China took gold with 85 points and Ai Mori of Japan grabbed silver with 84.8 points at Portmesse Nagoya Exhibition Hall in Nagoya, central Japan.

The objective of boulder is to complete the most routes in the fewest attempts on 4-meter walls. Climbers receive 25 points for finishing a route ("Top") and 10 points for reaching a designated midway hold ("Zone"), but lose 0.1 point for each unsuccessful attempt. With four problems presented in the final, the maximum score was 100 points.

Seo had the same score as Luo Zhilu of China but won the tiebreaker because she had the higher score in the previous phase, the semifinals, with the perfect 100 points.

In the final, Seo earned the full 25 points in each of her first two boulders but scored just 10 points in each of her next two.

Seo won silver behind Mori in the combined event at the 2023 Asian Games, where the competition was a mix of boulder and lead, of which the goal is to ascend as high as possible on a route set on a 15-meter wall within six minutes.

Three years ago, the final was canceled due to inclement weather and the medals were awarded based on climbers' scores from the semifinals and qualification.

Seo is considered a better climber in lead than boulder. She is No. 2 in the lead world rankings but No. 30 in the boulder rankings.

The women's lead competition starts with the semifinals on Friday and will wrap up with the final on Saturday.

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