The 2009 World Climbing Championship kicked off in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai province on Tuesday.

In men's bouldering qualifying round on Tuesday, European athletes demonstrated great strength and endurance, booking 17 out of 20 berths to semi-finals.

Russian athlete Victor Kozlov, ranked 49th in the world, topped the qualifying, followed by his teammate, the 42-year-old veteran Salavat Rakhmetov. Kilian Fischhuber, the world number one in the bouldering category, was third.

In women's bouldering, Anna Galliamova from Russia, Olga Shalagina from Ukraine and Swiss Alexandra Eyer took the top three places in the qualification.

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2009)