Slovenia's climbing superstar makes triumphant comeback
Slovenia's climbing superstar Janja Garnbret made her comeback in great style after a nine-month break from competition, winning the women's boulder and lead events at the IFSC World Cup meet in Innsbruck.
After winning her 18th boulder event, the two-time Olympic champion chalked up her 30th win in the lead discipline two days later to match the record of South Korea's Jain Kim. She now has 48 World Cup wins under her belt, far more than any other climber, female or male, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
This was also her fourth straight double in Austria's Innsbruck, a venue that she likes very much, which is also why she picked it as her first competition this year.
Bit of a shaky start
The 26-year-old faced some difficulties in the qualifying and semi-final of the boulder event but pulled off an exceptional performance in the final. She scored 99.3 points to beat France's Oriane Bertone in second (69.8 points) and Anon Matsufuji from Japan in third (59.5 points).
"I had a bit of a shaky start to the qualification, but that was kind of expected, when you don't compete for so long, you're kind of not used to the time pressure and everything anymore," Garnbret commented after the boulder event.
"The start wasn't the best, but then the semi-final was already a hundred percent better than the qualification, I relaxed a bit more, but I still wasn't completely myself. After the semi-final I got that relaxation, that softness back, I was the real Janja that we all know so well, I don't know when I was so relaxed last time. It was just fantastic to climb," she added.
Garnbret was impressed by the reception she received from the audience in Austria's Innsbruck. "I got such a warm welcome from the crowd, everyone was really happy to have me back. I'm also happy that I didn't feel that people expected anything from me, which was really amazing. I needed that to come back. And now we're just heading on," she said.
Back in top shape
In the lead event Garnbret put on brilliant performance, outdoing her rivals in the qualifying, semi-final and final. She did not manage to get to the top in the final but by reaching hold 41, she was still far better than the rest. Italy's Laura Rogora was second by reaching a height of 33, and Britain's Erin McNeice was third with 32+.
"To be honest I'm really tired, three days of climbing was really exhausting, but at the same time I'm really happy to be back and climbing the way I wanted to," Garnbret said.
"Even though I wasn't completely rested, the route was fun, beautiful, I enjoyed every single move," she added.
She admitted there was a dramatic moment in the final direction. She hesitated in the swinging movement, holding on to a handhold with both hands, trying to propel herself up to the next handhold.
"I wasn't sure if I could reach the hold, hence the swing. It may have all looked strange, but then I just found a solution and kept going. I don't think it worried me, maybe it worried the audience more. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, the crowd was fantastic with their cheering. It was a very good weekend in Innsbruck," the Slovenian champion said.
She last competed in the World Cup meet in Slovenia's Koper in September 2024, which she won, like all the events she competed in last season, including defending her Tokyo Olympic gold at the Paris Olympic Games. She missed seven World Cup competitions this year.
She has decided to miss some more. She will next appear at the home World Cup meet in Koper on 5 and 6 September. Before that she will take part in a charity climbing marathon in Slovenska Bistrica on 22 and 23 August when she tries to climb 100 routes in 24 hours.
