16 Slovenians in the Fight for Medals

This weekend all roads lead to Kranj, which on 29 and 30 September hosts the 23rd World Cup competition in sport climbing in lead. Among 126 competitors from 26 countries, there will also be a strong 16-member Slovenian team, which is already looking forward to the test in front of home fans. With the excellent results of our national team in this season and a rich accompanying program, a real sport climbing festival is expected again, which should not be missed.



The World Cup in sport climbing, organized by the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS) under the auspices of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), will not conclude this year in the Zlato polje hall in Kranj, as two more competitions in China follow Kranj, nevertheless, the sport climbing elite from all over the world is coming to Gorenjska. "126 competitors from 26 countries are registered, even more than last year. The start list has 57 girls and 69 boys," revealed the leader of the WC Kranj 2018 competition Tomo Česen and presented the competition and schedule. On Saturday, September 29, men's qualifications start at 8 a.m., women's qualifications follow at 1 p.m., the same evening at 8 p.m. will be the semi-final. Sunday, September 30, is reserved for the final starting at 5:45 p.m. "I count on strong support from the spectators. The Slovenian national team is represented at the home competition as always with slightly more competitors and I hope that this is sufficient reason for enough spectators to come to the hall and the atmosphere will be right, as always. In addition, our team achieved exceptional results at the last world championship and we can expect similar from them in Kranj," added Česen.



That the Kranj competition is a real climbing festival, in addition to the sport climbing spectacle in the competition wall, every year a rich accompanying program takes care of it, which on Saturday all day will be dedicated to children and families and all who would like to meet the Slovenian para-climbing national team and try climbing with blindfolds, before the Saturday semi-final and Sunday final, climbing films from the archive of the Mountain Film Festival will also be on display.



PROGRAM WC in sport climbing KRANJ 2018 (Zlato polje sports hall)

Saturday, September 29 Sunday, September 30

8.00 men's qualifications

9.00-16.00 creative workshops for children

10.00-17.00 meet the Slovenian para-climbing national team

13.00 women's qualifications

13.00-16.00 climbing challenge "strong fingers"

14.00-16.00 Mini Olympics

18.45 climbing film: Coconut Connection

20.00 semi-final women and men 17.00 climbing films: Uruca II - Bugaboos and Breakthrough

17.45 presentation of finalists and route preview

17.55 official opening of the competition with acrobatic spectacle

18.00 men's final, followed by women

(followed by medal ceremony)



"We have three more competitions ahead, but I would rate the lead season so far as very good, and for an excellent grade, I believe we will take care. For the girls, Janja could hardly have a better yield, and we had quite a few good results from the other girls. Mina Markovič, Mia Krampl and Vita Lukan also performed in the final, Tjaša Kalan was three times first under the line and I also count Lučka Rakovec's unofficial placement in the final at the world championship. Domen was already twice third, but I know he wants and deserves a victory, his form is excellent and I believe he succeeds. I'm glad that Luka Potočar is also increasingly constant and convincing, gaining experience and I believe he will climb better in the semi-final from competition to competition. We started well and we will drive the season to the end in the right direction," the selector and coach of the Slovenian sport climbing national team Gorazd Hren evaluated the current yield of this season's World Cup in lead, who selected a 16-member crew for the home competition. In Kranj, ten girls will perform: Janja Garnbret, Mina Markovič, Vita Lukan, Mia Krampl, Katja Kadić, Tjaša Kalan, Lana Skušek, Urška Repušič, Tjaša Slemenšek and Lučka Rakovec, and six boys: Domen Škofic, Luka Potočar, Martin Bergant, Milan Preskar, Klemen Novak and Žiga Zajc. "Expectations before the home test are approximately the same as for every competition, that we all give our maximum and try to arrange a good show for you. Of course, this time I also count on great support from the fans, who can further ignite our competitors and extract excess from them," let the selector's words be heard.



About the phenomenon of women's climbing in Slovenia, the coach of the Slovenian national team Luka Fonda spoke: "If we go back to 2001, Tomo Česen and Martina Čufar made a breakthrough with the title of world champion and this lasts until today. In my opinion, this phenomenon is in our smallness. All the girls today follow Martina's footsteps and then the footsteps of Maja Vidmar, Natalija Gros, Mina and now Janja, this mindset is passed from generation to generation. When you have such strong competition at home, it motivationally drives you forward and you start to believe that you can succeed too, if you perform similarly in joint trainings. Today there are eight to ten girls who are all capable of climbing into the final or on the podium in the World Cup."



The national team coach Urh Čehovin emphasized that already at the beginning of the season they saw that four girls can come to the final and that they are team-wise always stronger: "We didn't prepare specially for the competition in Kranj, as we had the world championship, then most participated in the competition in Stuttgart, some used a short break for rest, all individually prepared for the specifics of the Kranj wall, such as slightly more demanding routes, harder moves and shorter routes than at the world championship."



Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO) comes to the Kranj competition as the world vice-champion in lead climbing, champion in bouldering and combination and currently leading in the overall World Cup standings in lead. The title of world champion in lead, won by Austrian Jessica Pilz, was decided by seconds, so the Slovenian heroine hopes for more demanding routes in Kranj: "Already at some previous competition, Jess and I both climbed the final route, but then fortunately the semi-final decided the winner. I hope the route setters have learned something from previous competitions, if not, I will try to be at least faster." At all this year's lead competitions, only four different climbers appeared on the podium, besides Garnbret and Pilz also Belgian Anak Verhoeven and South Korean Jain Kim. "Unfortunately, Anak ended the season early due to injury, but I expect a similar fight in Kranj among us three. Of course, some other competitor can show excellent preparedness and break through to the podium," thinks the 19-year-old from Koroška, the overall winner of the WC in lead for the last two years, who won in Kranj for the first time last year, and this year she tells Slovenian fans "that it will be great, the atmosphere will be excellent, so it's worth coming to watch the competition live, if not, everyone should keep their fingers crossed for all our competitors from home".



The Kranj competition is not without Mina Markovič (ŠPK Plus), who will perform in the Zlato polje hall this year for the fifteenth time and has won four times, namely in 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2015. The three-time overall winner of the WC in lead climbing comes to Kranj as currently seventh in the overall World Cup standings. "Competing in front of the home audience is, at least for me, always was and is something special. Perhaps a bit more stressful, but also much more encouraging. The advantage of experience is definitely that you know the situation a bit better, you know what to expect, and you prepare well for it," said the most experienced member of the Slovenian national team, who slipped the lead semi-final at the recent world championship: "Although I believe I was well prepared for the world championship, everything really didn't turn out as planned. The result in Innsbruck was quite a big shock and disappointment. I hope it was just a step back for a run forward and it will only be better!"



In the world championship final and to an excellent seventh place, Mia Krampl (AO PD Kranj) placed, who this year shone in junior competition in bouldering (became junior European champion), in senior in lead. "Given the latest results, I'm in excellent form. Also in Kranj, I want to repeat the success from the world championship and qualify for the final. I'm especially looking forward to the competition, home fans give me even more drive, so I hope that this year too, as every year, the audience will be loud and encouraging," the 18-year-old from Kranj looks forward to the home competition, who also climbed to the final this year at the World Cup competition in Briançon, where there were four Slovenians among the eight finalists, who were the biggest competition to themselves: "This seems to me one of the biggest advantages, as it means that I already climb with the best in trainings, which gives me a real picture of my preparedness and helps me discover and improve weaknesses. At the same time, with this achievement, we showed the world how many good climbers such a small country as Slovenia has."



Her first senior final and seventh place was climbed last year in Kranj by Vita Lukan (ŠPO PD Radovljica), who this year won the title of junior world champion in lead and was third in bouldering and also European junior champion in combination. "I returned from junior championships satisfied with climbing and the result, from senior richer for the experience that every athlete must gain. Despite somewhat poorer results in Innsbruck, I have a successful season behind me, so I'm really looking forward to the home competition. I want to repeat or even improve last year's result, as climbing in the final in front of a full hall of home audience was truly unforgettable," announces the 17-year-old from Radovljica, who is awaited by the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires at the beginning of October: "The Olympic combination format in Innsbruck was interesting for the spectators, as there were many twists, recalculations of results and it was tense until the end, but for the competitors it was extremely tiring. I'm looking forward to experiencing this firsthand in 14 days, as the entire competition looked interesting, the results unpredictable."



The second Slovenian representative in Argentina will be Lučka Rakovec (ŠD Proteus), this year already junior world vice-champion and European champion in bouldering and European vice-champion in combination. "This year's season is one of my best, if not the best so far. Although it didn't start with the European championship in lead and fourth place as I would have wished, the following competitions showed my preparedness and it seems to me that all these results are a good provision for the Youth Olympic Games," said the 16-year-old from Ljubljana, who experienced her baptismal performance among seniors last year at the competition in Kranj, at the recent world championship she climbed magnificently - but with a bit of bad luck, as she brushed the quickdraw - in the semi-final, where she showed that for her the jump from junior to senior competition is not too demanding: "The jump is of course there, although perhaps a bit smaller than I expected, still the competitions are at a higher level, the routes are harder and also more interesting, the competition is much bigger."



The main male ace in Kranj will be Domen Škofic (ŠPO PD Radovljica), currently fourth in the overall World Cup standings in lead, who also showed top preparedness at the world championship, but it went a bit wrong in the final. "My self-confidence in Innsbruck failed only at the last moment, when I allowed high expectations to jump into my head. Except for the final, I climbed excellently and with these feelings I await the Kranj competition," believe the words of the 24-year-old from Radovljica, who climbed the highest in Kranj in 2016, when he stepped on the second step, last year he was fourth. Like the girls, he looks forward to the support of home fans, but realizes that he must count primarily on himself: "Definitely looking forward to the home audience. Innsbruck taught me that nevertheless you need to count on your own atmosphere and not on the hall's atmosphere."