The time period G.O.A.T. will get thrown round rather a lot in skilled sports activities, however in competitors climbing, maybe nobody deserves the title greater than Janja Garnbret. After taking a 9-month hiatus away from World Cup competitions, the two-time Olympic champion from Slovenia received gold in bouldering on the Innsbruck World Cup at present.
The 26-year-old’s resume is stacked: 47 World Cup wins in bouldering and lead occasions, 10 total World Cup titles, and eight titles on the World Championships. Since climbing was launched on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she’s received gold twice, cementing her dominance within the sport.
However within the midst of all of this success, Garnbret consciously selected to take a break from competitors.
“After years of competitions and particularly the Olympic yr itself, which was bodily and mentally demanding, I’ve determined to do it a bit otherwise this yr,” she wrote on Instagram in April. “In fact, I’m nonetheless coaching laborious and upgrading my final yr’s form, however I additionally felt that I wanted a bit extra time away from competing.”
She introduced that she would solely compete at three IFSC occasions in 2025: the World Cups in Innsbruck and Koper, and the World Championships in South Korea. Her return to competitors in Innsbruck this week marked her first competitors because the Koper World Cup in September 2024.
Janja Garnbret Wins in First Comp Since ’24
Initially, Garnbret regarded strong however not unbeatable, inserting fifth in qualification and fourth in semi-finals. Within the finals spherical, she appeared to succeed in a brand new gear, changing into the one athlete to high all 4 boulders.
She completed with a rating of 99.3, far forward of silver medalist Oriane Bertone (69.8) and bronze medalist Anon Matsufuji (59.5).
“It feels superb. I didn’t understand how I might really feel coming again, however this superb Innsbruck crowd welcomed me again,” Garnbret mentioned in a press launch. “I actually loved myself on the wall, had a little bit of a shaky begin in qualification, then it felt 100% higher in semi-final, and now I felt like my previous self in ultimate.”
“You always remember the best way to compete, however being again after 9 months, in the midst of the season, was not the best factor. I had numerous doubts: ‘Am I prepared? Am I not? Am I even motivated?’ However I’m so glad I got here again, I loved it a lot.”
Subsequent up for Garnbret is the lead competitors at Innsbruck, with a qualification spherical on June 28 and finals on June 29. All eyes shall be on Garnbret to see if she will be able to pull off a double gold.
