Annie Sanders has won the women's Lead title of the 2026 World Climbing Series. The American finished on 4,415 points, ahead of Chaehyun Seo and Janja Garnbret. She took the title at 19.
Decided in Santiago, won back in Wujiang
The title was decided at the Santiago finale, the last stop of the series and the first ever held in Chile. Sanders arrived leading the standings, 4,415 points to Seo's 3,565, and neither of them entered the women's Lead event.
Garnbret won the Santiago final, the only woman to top a route from qualification through to the end. The win was her 34th Lead gold from 54 starts, and it lifted her to second overall on 3,805 points. Laura Rogora took second with 48+, and Rosa Rekar claimed the first podium of her career with 46+.
The season had opened in Wujiang on 9 May, the first women's Lead final of the year, on a powerful and technical route. Garnbret, called up early after a fourth place in the semi-finals, topped it but came off throwing for the final hold, while Sanders climbed last and fell on the same move. Both finished on 43+, and Sanders won gold on countback from the semi-finals, with Seo third on 30.
A Prague double and Chamonix gold
That win set the pattern. In Prague, Sanders won both the boulder and the lead event, becoming only the fourth climber to take both at a single stop. In Chamonix she won the Lead final with 52+, a third Lead gold for a climber born in 2007 in Fort Worth, Texas.
In Wujiang she had kept checking the clock, resting out the time to recover before her final move. Afterwards she said she was not sure she had finished within the limit, and was overwhelmed once she saw the score. Garnbret, beaten by a single countback, said she had felt solid and "just felt short" on the last hold.
Sanders stood on seven of eight Lead and Boulder podiums through 2026, a near-complete run across the season.
