Sorato Anraku won the 2026 World Climbing Series overall Boulder title with 5048.7 points. The Japanese climber took five of the six boulder golds on offer this year. The season crown was settled before the finale even began.
Decided long before Salt Lake City
Anraku arrived in Salt Lake City with the series title already confirmed, the reward for a season that opened in Keqiao back in May. He went out in the qualification stage, an exit the official report called a disappointment. Last year's boulder winner, Pan Yufei, also failed to advance past qualification.
The men's final was then decided on the last boulder, a coordination problem no finalist had zoned. Israel's Yonatan Katz topped it on his fourth attempt for 69.7 points, winning gold on only his second series appearance. Great Britain's Max Milne tied on 59.7 points but finished second on countback, with Japan's Rei Kawamata third.
Five wins and a record streak
Anraku had won the opening five boulder events of the year, in Keqiao, Bern, Madrid, Prague and Innsbruck. At the Keqiao opener he topped every boulder in the semi-final with 99.6 points. The run set a new men's record for consecutive boulder victories.
That streak sealed the overall title with one event still to climb. He finished far ahead of the field: South Korea's Dohyun Lee was second on 3095 points, France's Mejdi Schalck third on 2899.5.
A fourth straight Boulder crown
The title is Anraku's fourth consecutive overall Boulder World Cup, after wins in 2023, 2024 and 2025. In his debut senior season in 2023 he became the first climber to win both the overall Lead and overall Boulder titles. He took World Championship bouldering gold in Seoul in 2025 and Olympic silver in the combined event at Paris 2024.
In 2025 he also became the only male climber to win three straight bouldering World Cups in a single season. Born in Yachiyo in November 2006, Anraku turned professional after leaving high school in spring 2025. At nineteen, the climber from Chiba has made the overall Boulder title a yearly habit.
