In her first World Cup competition since April, the Slovenian star won her 17th Boulder World Cup medal, 44th in total.
The first of four finals scheduled at the IFSC World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, lived up to the expectations of a sold-out Kletterzentrum, crowning Slovenian multi-decorated climber Janja Garnbret with the 17th Boulder World Cup gold of her career.
The outcome of the final, however, was only decided at the end of the fourth and decisive boulder, which only Garnbret managed to top after three attempts, eventually bursting in tears as the 3,000 fans that filled the venue celebrated her victory.
“I was a little bit stressed today, to be honest. First, I very much enjoyed the semi-final, it was a hard round, the boulders were very hard, but this is what we train for. The final felt a little bit easier, I needed to stay focused until the end, and I’m happy that I managed to do it, I’m happy for the last boulder which was the hardest. It was a great test before Paris, I feel great,” said Garnbret moments after the final concluded.
The 25-year-old from Slovenj Gradcu finished with four tops and four zones, placing ahead of 17-year-old teammate Jennifer Eucharia Buckley and 16-year-old Annie Sanders of the USA.
“Youngsters are coming, I’m not that young anymore! It would be sad if no-one would be coming after me. I always try to stay focused and sharp to beat them,” added the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist.
Both Buckley and Sanders concluded their final with three tops and three zones, only failing to solve problem number four. Buckley, competing in her first-ever Boulder World Cup, managed to place ahead of her US rival thanks to one attempt-to-top less. Both Buckley’s silver and Sanders’ bronze are the first World Cup medal won by the two young climbers.
Japan’s Nakamura Mao concluded just outside of the medal positions, taking fourth place and recording her best-ever results at a World Cup event. Tokyo 2020 Olympian Jessica Pilz of Austria placed fifth, and Fanny Gibert of France closed in sixth position.
For the complete results of the women’s Boulder event click here.
The IFSC World Cup Innsbruck 2024 will continue tomorrow with the men’s Boulder semi-final and final, respectively starting at 13:00 (UTC+2:00) and 19:30.
News and updates about the events will be available on the IFSC website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin and Weibo.