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Japan’s Anraku proved once again he is a true all-rounder when it comes to climbing.

While others looked at the LA28 announcement that climbing would have three sets of medals – one per discipline – and started to think about focussing, you can see that Anraku would love to go for both Boulder and Lead.

After winning gold in Wujiang at the start of the season, Anraku had a little blip in his results with a 16^th and ninth place finish in the following two – but the Boulder Series winner is back on top, and with a top.

Anraku was the only climber to top the final route to secure his win and after said: “I’m happy to come back and get the victory. I missed finals in Bali and Innsbruck, then I trained a lot after Innsbruck as I really wanted to win in Chamonix.

“I loved the crowd here and I think I shouted for the first time ever in a competition on the wall.”

One climber that could have displaced Anraku in the golden hotseat was Spain’s Alberto Ginés López who is yet to win a World Cup gold, and in Chamonix he was possibly the closest he has ever been to one.

With Anraku topping the route, Ginés López had to top to win on countback, and he came within fingertips as he fell jumping to the final hold. That hand slip meant a silver medal for the Spaniard.

Anraku knew he had gotten away with one, saying: “I will be in good shape for Madrid [at the next event]. I want to win again. But Alberto is in great shape, and he will be hard to beat. I think he is actually climbing better than me at the moment.”

Talking after his silver Ginés López said: “I’m happy because I improved from third to second from the last comps, but I’m still looking for that gold. I really want it.”

Just one move away from winning, Ginés López knew that gold was just within reach, and that was ultimately what stopped him achieving the feat: “I think I saw the gold too close. I already knew Sorato had topped the route so I knew I had to, and the last two or three moves I could see the gold; I just have to control my feelings more for the next comp.”

While Anraku and Ginés López have visited the World Cup podium before, the bronze medallist who joined them hasn’t – until now. Italy’s Filip Schenk won his first ever World Cup medal in Chamonix falling at the same spot as the Spanish climber.

Trying to gather his thoughts after his first medal Schenk said: “It’s crazy. I can’t really believe it. I think I will need some time to realise it fully. Doing it here in Chamonix as well is really crazy.”

It was only the third final for Schenk, and for some climbers it can be a bit of a nervous time, especially with the size of the crowd in Chamonix, but the Italian thought otherwise: “I think I was quite relaxed as I was already happy with my climbing, so even without the result I was happy, but the podium is of course much better.”

Just off the podium in fourth was Japan’s Yoshida Satone who climbed to hold 39+. Last year’s winner Colin Duffy from the USA ended his defence in fifth on hold 38+ with Switzerland’s Jonas Utelli just behind in sixth on hold 36.

In seventh was Slovenia’s Luka Potocar on hold 31 with Japan’s Omata Shion in eighth on hold 29+.

Full men’s Lead results here

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Cole Palmer scored twice and fed João Pedro for a goal as Chelsea overwhelmed Paris Saint-Germain in the first half and beat the European champions 3-0 on Sunday in the final of the first expanded Club World Cup.

Palmer had almost identical left-footed goals from just inside the penalty area in the 22nd and 30th minutes, then sent a through pass that enabled João Pedro to chip goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 43d for his third goal in two starts with the Blues.

A 23-year-old who joined Chelsea from Manchester City two years ago, Palmer scored 18 goals this season.

PSG finished a man short after João Neves was given a red card in the 84th minute for pulling down Marc Cucurella by his hair. After a testy final few minutes in a game with six yellow cards, the teams needed to be separated as PSG coach Luis Enrique and Donnarumma pushed João Pedro near the center circle.

A heavy favorite who had outscored opponents 16-1, PSG had been looking to complete a quadruple after winning Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and its first Champions League title.

Before a tournament-high crowd of 81,188 at MetLife Stadium that included U.S. President Donald Trump, Chelsea showed the energy of a fourth day of rest after its semifinal, one more than PSG. Trump was booed when he walked on the field for the postgame awards, then posed with Chelsea players after he and FIFA president Gianni Infantino handed the trophy to captain Reece James.

Chelsea had finished fourth in the Premier League and won the third-tier UEFA Conference League. The Blues took the world title for the second time after 2021, when it was an seven-team event. The Blues earned $128,435,000 to $153,815,000 in prize money, the amount depending on a participation fee FIFA has not disclosed.

PSG had not lost by three goals since a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Newcastle in October 2023.

Key moments

Chelsea went ahead in the 22nd after goalkeeper Robert Sánchez kicked the ball downfield and Nuno Mendes mis-hit his header 15 yards past the midfield stripe toward his own goal. Malo Gusto’s shot was blocked by Lucas Beraldo and rebounded to Palmer, who ended PSG’s streak of 436 minutes without conceding.

Palmer doubled the lead in the 30th when he ran onto a long ball from Levi Colwill, cut inside before shooting.

Takeaways

Chelsea heads into the 2025-26 season, which starts in less than five weeks, believing it can challenge Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal for the Premier League title.

They said it

“It’s a great feeling,” Palmer said. “Even better because obviously everyone doubted us before the game. … The gaffer put a great gameplan out and obviously, he knew where the space was going to be.”

Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro have led Chelsea to an incredible 3-0 demolition of European champions Paris Saint Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final in New York.

England attacker Palmer slotted home almost identical strikes in the 22^nd and 30^th minutes to put the Londoners in control and Joao Pedro’s effort two minutes before the break effectively sealed a result, few could have predicted before the game.

Against a PSG side that had swept all before them in Europe and over the past month in the United States, Chelsea delivered a master class in pressing, played some telling passes that constantly stretched the star studded French side.

PSG were better after the break, Dembele hit the post and Vitinho fired just wide. But Chelsea’s defence held firm and Enzo Maresca’s side deservedly claimed the spoils.

To add to PSG’s misery Joao Neves was sent off for pulling Cucurella’s hair late on.

CHELSEA 3 (Cole PALMER 22’ 30’ Joao PEDRO 43’)

 PARIS SAINT GERMAIN 0

HT 3-0

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — Steve Allan became the first wire-to-wire winner in Dick’s Sporting Goods Open history Sunday, closing with a 6-under 66 for a four-stroke victory.

Allan finished at 18-under 198 at En-Joie Golf Course for his second PGA Tour Champions victory of the season. The 51-year-old Australian opened Friday with a 63 for a two-shot edge and had a 69 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Boo Weekley into the final round.

After playing the first seven holes Sunday in 1 under with two birdies and a bogey, Allan birdied five of the next six and parred the last five.

“It was tough. It was tough, even yesterday, hanging in there, and today early on it was a bit rough with the driver,” Allan said. “In the rough a lot and just managed to hang in there. Then on the back nine, made a few putts.”

He also won The Galleri Classic in late March at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California.

Jason Caron was second after a 68. Weekley (70) and Notah Begay III (67) tied for third at 13 under, and Soren Kjeldsen (64) was another stroke back with Michael Wright (67) and Jeff Sluman (68).

Padraig Harrington wasn’t back to try to win for a fourth straight time, skipping the event to play in the Scottish Open. He also has the British Open at Royal Portrush and the Senior British Open at Royal Porthcawl.

Ernie Els, in the British Open field, shot 69 to tie for 16th at 8 under.

Reigning European champions England thrashed neighbours Wales 6-1 to reach the Women’s Euro 2025 quarterfinals on Sunday, securing second spot in Group D and cruising into the knockouts on a high note.

Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead and Aggie Beever-Jones were all on target for England, who finished runners-up to France after their 5-2 victory over the Netherlands.

Next up for Sarina Wiegman’s team are Sweden — who won all three of their games to top Group C — in the quarterfinal on Thursday.

“It is going to be a difficult game. We watched [Sweden] the other night and they were really good. We need to be on our best game,” Toone said. “I think they should be scared.”

The second-place finish, however, could be a bonus as provided they get past Sweden, England would avoid world champions Spain in the semifinals.

Stanway struck from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after a foul in the box, calmly sweeping her shot into the far-left corner past the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Olivia Clark to open the floodgates.

Toone then found the back of the net with a scrappy goal eight minutes later as England capitalised on a sloppy clearance by Rhiannon Roberts — with the ball falling to Russo who nudged it into the path of Toone who fired home on the second attempt.

Hemp nodded in a third inside 30 minutes after a clever pass from Lauren James to Toone on the byline. Toone found Hemp at the far post with a pinpoint cross for an easy header.

Russo bagged her first goal of the tournament just before halftime when Toone made another dart to the byline before cutting the ball back for the Arsenal forward, who took one touch to control it before firing home. Mead cut inside a Welsh defender before a cute finish secured England’s fifth in the 72nd minute.

Hannah Cain pulled one back in the 76th minute, much to the delight of the Wales fans, but England’s Beever-Jones replied in the 89th with her first goal in a major tournament, finishing off a Mead cross. 

“This is the beginning of a journey for us,” Wales midfielder Jess Fishlock said. “We’ve played three of the best teams in the world at this tournament and we’ve found out how big that jump is.”

Much was made about the traditional rivalry between England and Wales, with Wales wanting nothing better than to spoil England’s party. Thousands of Welsh fans in the Red Wall didn’t lose their voice throughout Sunday’s match, despite the scoreline.

But Wiegman’s team — World Cup finalists in 2023 and European champions the year before — showed their vast experience against a Wales side making their major tournament debut.

“We scored six goals and a big part of the game we dominated, a very good game,” head coach Wiegman said. “Playing well is the most important, who scores is not that important.”

England have won 10 of the 11 meetings between the two teams, with Wales’ best result being a 0-0 draw in 2018.

“We were really good. It is always hard to play against a team that sits in a low block,” Toone said. “It was nice we got an early goal in the first half and we enjoyed the game.”

Wiegman gets it right when England need it most

Sarina Wiegman is a manager that knows how to win.

Twice the Dutchwoman has guided a nation to a European title followed by a World Cup final, first with the Netherlands and again with England.

At EURO 2025, she is facing perhaps her toughest test as an international head coach, which is attempting to successfully defend a title. An opening 2-1 defeat by France, in quite damming fashion, left the Lionesses with plenty to ponder going into their last two group fixtures.

Something had to give – a change of personnel, or a change of tactics. In the end, it was a mix of both, which put England back on the path to defending their title.

The first minor shift came in defence, addressing the issue of being overloaded by lightning-quick French wingers. Jess Carter, who started at left-back, and Alex Greenwood, who started at centre-back, were both switched for the game against the Netherlands.

As far as Carter goes, it allowed her to operate in a position far more comfortable to her, having played there regularly for her current club, NJ/NY Gotham. Greenwood plays centrally for Manchester City, but it’s a move that is more recent for the 31-year-old, who has spent much of her career playing on the left-hand side.

The result? A far more composed performance at the back, with England avoiding getting caught out. More importantly, a clean sheet in a thumping 4-0 win.

Wiegman’s second change came further up the pitch, bringing Toone in place of Mead.

This meant moving Lauren James out wide, and while the thrilling forward can play a number of positions, it seems as though the switch allowed the Lionesses to get the best out of their star player. Toone is a natural No.10, used to operating in those pockets of space the ties together the attack. It also allows for a more fluid approach, which the defending champions benefited from in their 6-1 drilling of Wales.

Their front four of Hemp, Russo, James and Toone were intertwining throughout the first half, covering each other’s positions and dragging the Welsh defence out of shape. A 4-0 half-time lead was the effect of such an approach, an utterly relentless display from a side with a point to prove.

This system and these tactics may not work for every team they face; it’s something that is likely to evolve as the tournament goes on.

Weigman has shown she can be adaptable, and she can get the best out of her side when the moment calls for it – this alone is vital when it comes to knockout football.