Already 23 Slovenian medals from European championships...

Already 23 Slovenian medals from the European championships in sport climbing.



The haul of European medals for the Slovenian sport climbing team, which has already returned from the ninth consecutive continental championship with accolades, has climbed to 23 this year thanks to European lead champion Lučka Rakovec, bouldering champion Urška Repušič, and runner-up Vita Lukan, and the team has for the first time in history a European champion in both lead and bouldering in the same season.







Lučka Rakovec (PK FA) climbed to the gold medal at the EP in lead climbing in Edinburgh on October 6 in her first full senior season, just a week after her debut podium at the World Cup in Kranj, securing another top achievement. Just below the podium were Mina Markovič (ŠPK Plus), the Slovenian record holder with seven EP medals, and Martin Bergant (PK Škofja Loka), who achieved his career-best fourth place. Tjaša Kalan (AO PD Kranj) also reached the final in seventh and Luka Potočar (ŠPO PD Radovljica) in eighth place. A month earlier, on September 7, Urška Repušič (APD Kozjak Maribor) with gold and Vita Lukan (ŠPO PD Radovljica) with silver at the EP in bouldering in Zakopane ensured a double Slovenian triumph at the continental championship.







The girls are thus continuing the exceptional season of the Slovenian team, which under the leadership of selector Gorazd Hren and coaches Luka Fonda and Urh Čehovin stunned at the World Championships in August in Japan, when Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO) entered history as the only one to win the world championship title in three different disciplines at the same World Championship and also secured a ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with her success complemented by Mia Krampl (AO PD Kranj) with silver in lead. Krampl, 11th in Edinburgh, missed the EP final by just one move, while Garnbret skipped the EP due to a demanding schedule this season.







Slovenia won as many as three medals and two European champion titles at the 2019 European Championships (EP) in sport climbing, thus raising the total number of Slovenian accolades from EPs to 23. The Slovenian sport climbing team has never before had European champions in lead and bouldering in the same season, so it set another milestone this year, and has returned from the ninth consecutive EP with at least one medal anyway. "As I have emphasized many times, our greatness lies in our smallness, it is a reflection of the team spirit in the national team, joint training, and really hard work of all coaches, both within the national team, especially personal coaches, so I would praise and highlight everyone who strives for our top sport. The girls are really excellently prepared, they challenge each other, pull each other forward, this is a reflection of all the work, knowledge, and our tradition. These achievements of course bring enormous joy to us and the competitors, and I think we represent Slovenian colors exceptionally well, but I would like to emphasize that they are anything but self-evident," highlighted Luka Fonda, coach of the Slovenian sport climbing national team, at a press conference at the headquarters of the Alpine Association of Slovenia.







"In fact, I haven't fully grasped what happened in the last week yet. I haven't even processed the podium in Kranj, let alone the victory at the European Championship. Given that we're heading to the next competition in just a week, I feel there's not much time to rest on the laurels," remains modest European lead champion Lučka Rakovec, who after numerous youth accolades is competing fully among seniors for the first time this year: "The transition from youth to senior category may not have been so big in terms of results, but of course the difference was felt, already in terms of the difficulty of routes and boulders and much greater competition. However, I did compete in some senior events last season and gradually got used to that level."







The 18-year-old from Ljubljana is currently ranked fourth in the World Cup lead standings and fifth in the combined, as the second most successful Slovenian behind Janja Garnbret. "This is really an excellent starting point for the last two World Cup events and the Olympic qualifying competition. Especially because I proved to myself that I can compete with the world's best, and that gave me a lot of motivation for the competitions still ahead this season. The desire for a good result at the qualifying competition is also great, but for the Olympic ticket, the main and actually the only role is played by the last competition of this season in November in Toulouse, where, as we've said many times, anything can happen," reflects Rakovec, who this year will be balancing matriculation and sports commitments: "I have to admit, an interesting year awaits me. School has just started well, and I can say that for now everything is going according to plan, and I really hope that by the end of high school I won't encounter too many unplanned obstacles."







"As I already said, there hasn't been time yet to grasp exactly what really happened. Of course, I'm thrilled with my results and find it incredible that I can say that one of my long-term goals is checked off already at 18," was enthusiastic Rakovec, who joined Martina Čufar, Urška Repušič, Vita Lukan, and Anže Peharc with one EP medal, Maja Vidmar and Klemen Bečan with two, Janja Garnbret with three, Natalija Gros with four, and Mina Markovič with as many as seven.







"Victory at the senior European Championship is a great honor, the European champion title is something exceptional, with this I proved to myself that with hard work, will, and perseverance I can reach the top podium at international senior competitions. I proved to myself that I can do it, so this is motivation for achieving even higher goals," complemented her Urška Repušič, European bouldering champion, who with Lukan in Poland ensured double Slovenian joy: "Zakopane will always have a special place for me, standing on the podium with an exceptional competitor and good friend Vita was the most beautiful thing, because I wish my friends luck and only the best. The triumph was even sweeter because of the double Slovenian success."





Vita Lukan, not only European bouldering runner-up but also seventh at the World Championships in lead, is recovering from surgery on her cruciate ligament and meniscus. "Both championships will remain in my memory as the most successful competitions of this season. It's a shame I couldn't prove myself in lead in Edinburgh too, but the Slovenian girls did fantastic work there, even without me. The surgery should have gone without complications according to the doctors. A fairly long rehabilitation awaits me, which should last about six months. I realize it can be especially mentally demanding, but this will now be my competition," reported the 18-year-old from Radovljica from the hospital, who on October 9 last year also became the youth Olympic runner-up in sport climbing in Buenos Aires.







Repušič did not go according to plan at the World Championships in August, where she finished 15th in bouldering, but the 19-year-old from Rače was determined to focus even more on training - and it paid off already at the beginning of September at the European Championship. "The competition at the World Championships did not allow mistakes. The competitors were in top form, so 15th place is not a bad result, but I still hoped to show a top performance. I take every failure as motivation to improve weaknesses and mistakes, I direct dissatisfaction into positive motivation for training and encouragement to show what I'm capable of at the next competition," emphasized Repušič, who faced a new challenge in October when she became a freshman at the Faculty of Economics in Maribor, as she advocates a parallel academic and sports path.







On October 10, Repušič is heading to the bouldering challenge at the World Beach Games in Doha with Hren, Kruder, and Vezonik, while also keeping Olympic dreams alive: "Qatar will undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience, Olympic dreams remain a big goal, especially Paris 2024, as the format there suits me much better because it doesn't include speed climbing. Theoretical qualification opportunities for Tokyo 2020 will also be next year at the European Championships in combined, but only the winner of that competition will get the Olympic ticket."







The Slovenian national team still faces bouldering events in Qatar by the end of the season, the last two World Cup lead events in China and Japan, and the Olympic qualifying competition in French Toulouse. Garnbret has already secured a ticket for the Olympic premiere of sport climbing next year in Tokyo, while besides Rakovec and Krampl, Jernej Kruder (ŠPO PD Celje Matica) and Anže Peharc (AO PD Kranj) remain in the race this year.







Achievements of Slovenian sport climbers at European championships

Chamonix 2002 Martina Čufar - 2nd place, lead.

Lecce 2004 Natalija Gros - 2nd place, lead.

Ekaterinburg 2006 Maja Vidmar - 3rd place, lead.

Pariz 2008 Natalija Gros - 1st place, bouldering; Natalija Gros - 1st place, combined; Maja Vidmar - 2nd place, lead; Mina Markovič - 3rd place, lead; Klemen Bečan - 3rd place, combined.

Imst 2010 Mina Markovič - 1st place, combined; Natalija Gros - 2nd place, combined; Klemen Bečan - 2nd place, combined.

Chamonix 2013 Mina Markovič - 2nd place, lead. Eindhoven 2013 Mina Markovič - 2nd place, bouldering; Mina Markovič - 2nd place, combined

Chamonix 2015 Mina Markovič - 1st place, lead; Janja Garnbret - 2nd place, lead.

Val di Fassa 2017 Mina Markovič - 2nd place, lead. München 2017 Janja Garnbret - 1st place, combined; Janja Garnbret - 2nd place, bouldering; Anže Peharc - 3rd place, bouldering.



Zakopane 2019 Urška Repušič - 1st place, bouldering; Vita Lukan - 2nd place, bouldering. Edinburg 2019 Lučka Rakovec - 1st place, lead.