Belgium's Hannes Van Duysen rode a comeback story straight into the Keqiao Boulder final on May 3, climbing into the final round of the 2026 World Cup opener despite returning from elbow surgery that had kept him out of competition climbing for three months.
Van Duysen's path to the final was the kind of underdog narrative the boulder format has produced regularly during the post-Olympic cycle. The 24-year-old was sidelined through most of the 2025 off-season after surgery on his climbing arm, and the operation cost him roughly three months of training before he was cleared to climb again.
"I'm happy to be in the final because during the off season I had an injury, I had a surgery and didn't climb for like three months, so it's only been about two months that I have been back climbing," Van Duysen said after his semi-final round. "I had elbow surgery so I couldn't climb at all. It's amazing that I've made a final."
The semi itself was not without drama. Van Duysen's path through the four-boulder round included what he called "a nasty fall," the kind of physical setback that tends to derail climbers either physically or psychologically. Neither happened.
"I took a nasty fall but I'm fine," he said. "I enjoyed the round. I climbed well, could have been better you know, but good enough so I am happy."
That self-assessment understates the achievement. Reaching a Boulder World Cup final is considered one of the harder week-by-week outcomes in international climbing. The eight-climber final field requires top-eight semi-final form, meaning Van Duysen's two months of post-surgery training was sufficient to reach the top eighth of a field that included Sorato Anraku, Mejdi Schalck and Tomoa Narasaki.
Van Duysen's Belgian programme has produced a steady run of strong continental and World Cup performers across the past five seasons, with consistent top-30 World Cup finishes establishing the country as a credible mid-tier boulder nation. His elevation to a finals appearance at the season opener slightly accelerates that trajectory.
The surgery-to-final timeline is also a useful reference point for climbers navigating injury recovery. Three months without training, followed by two months of return-to-competition work, has frequently been considered insufficient to reach a World Cup final in any discipline. Van Duysen's run shows that it remains possible, even if the route is rare.
The Keqiao final ultimately belonged to Anraku, who edged France's Schalck on attempts after both topped every semi-final boulder. Behind them, the field of finalists included Van Duysen's surprise appearance among several more established names, an outcome that underscored the depth of the men's roster on tour.
Van Duysen now faces a decision familiar to climbers returning from surgery: how aggressively to schedule the next World Cup stop. Salt Lake City hosts the second Boulder event in late May, and a back-to-back World Cup schedule would test whether his elbow can withstand consecutive competition rounds.
For now, the headline is the comeback itself. Two months of post-surgery training, one nasty fall, one final appearance — that is the story Van Duysen will take into the rest of the season.
