Climbing in front of the President of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, the two-time Olympic champion Janja Garnbret continued her winning ways with Lead gold at the IFSC World Cup Koper 2024, as did the men’s champion, Great Britain’s Toby Roberts.

Defending her title from last year, Garnbret was clear of her goals when she signed up to climb in Koper – to give something back to the adoring Slovenian fans that have supported her throughout her career.

With two tops in qualification and the only top in the semi-final, Garnbret was determined, and a hold 46+ climb was enough for yet another win, although such is the Slovenians mentality that it wasn’t the perfect finish she wanted: “I’m still a bit frustrated because I didn’t top. I enjoyed the route a lot and I did everything right, no unnecessary moves and I felt like I was cruising.

“Then, it was just a millisecond of not being focussed and that’s why I slipped. I was looking forward to the last jump, but oh well, I have something to show next time.”

Talking about that wild and supportive crowd Garnbret said: “The crowd is absolutely phenomenal. Honestly, a few years ago when the World Cup was in Kranj I know I had a hard time performing there because of the cheering and maybe the extra pressure to perform in front of the home crowd, but I’ve gotten used to it and now I love climbing in front of the home crowd with all the kids screaming and cheering. I absolutely enjoyed myself on the wall today.”

Joining Garnbret on the podium at Paris 2024, Austria’s Jessica Pilz once again stepped up to take silver this time with a hold 40+ climb for another World Cup medal.

The third and final medallist was USA’s Annie Sanders who reached hold 39+ for the first Lead World Cup medal of her fledgling career.

Australia’s Oceania Mackenzie was fourth on hold 38+ with France’s Zélia Avezou closely behind in fifth on hold 37+.

Great Britain’s Erin Mcneice was sixth on hold 34+, Austria’s Mattea Pötzi was seventh on hold 32+ and Italy’s Laura Rogora couldn’t replicate her IFSC European Championships form finishing eighth on hold 19+.

Full women’s results: https://ifsc.hopp.to/kp24wlr

The other Olympic champion in Koper, Great Britain’s Toby Roberts, once again stood atop the podium taking his third IFSC Lead World Cup gold medal with a hold 40 climb.

Roberts and Japan’s Anraku Sorato were at the top of the order after qualifications and semi-finals with Anraku the last to climb, leaving Roberts to watch what his friend and rival could do.

As Anraku fell on hold 35, the gold was secured for the British climber, but it wasn’t a time for celebration as all the finalists knew Anraku could have gone further up the route if it had not been for a slip.

Talking about his muted response to winning gold Roberts said: “We are all very respectful of each other. You celebrate your win; you don’t celebrate someone else’s loss. There will be celebrations later, but we are all really good friends and it’s so nice to compete against such nice people."

Talking about the final route Roberts said: “The route was really, really tricky. I was a bit nervous especially at the start as there were a few sketchy moves. The start, and the press move I wasn’t really sure about.

“But my whole goal of the competition was to enjoy it and that was the perfect finish. I gave it my maximum fight on that route, I couldn’t have had any more moves even if I wanted to so I’m really happy I got the most out of myself.”

Roberts’ win is his fourth World Cup win in all disciplines, which equals the British men’s record of Simon Nadin.

With Roberts in gold and Anraku in silver, the same positions they held at Paris 2024, it was IFSC European Championship silver medallist, France’s Sam Avezou, who joined them on the podium taking bronze with a hold 31+ climb.

Just off the podium was Japan’s Omata Shion in fourth and Germany’s Yannick Flohe in fifth both reaching hold 30+.

Making the second final in a row early in his World Cup career, France’s Max Bertone finished in sixth on hold 25+ ahead of Japan’s Yurikusa Ao in seventh on hold 16 and South Korea’s Lee Dohyun who slipped early on hold 12.

Full men’s results: https://ifsc.hopp.to/kp24mlr

News and updates about the IFSC World Cup Koper 2024 will be available on the IFSC website and the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin and Weibo.