First international competition with a strong Slovenian lineup.

First international competition with a strong Slovenian lineup.



Eleven members of the Slovenian national team in sport climbing will face world-class competition this weekend at the first international event of the year in Briançon.







The coronavirus epidemic has greatly altered the plans of the Slovenian national team in sport climbing this year. First, all domestic and international top-level competitions were canceled until the end of July due to the epidemic, then the International Federation of Sport Climbing announced that the World Cup could start at the end of August. The first competition will therefore take place on August 21 and 22 in Briançon, France, hosting a World Cup lead event.







The team members competing in the international event are Martin Bergant, Luka Potočar, Milan Preskar, Domen Škofic, and Žiga Zajc, as well as Janja Garnbret, Tjaša Kalan, Vita Lukan, Lucija Tarkuš, Tjaša Slemenšek, and Lana Skušek.







In recent weeks, national team members have conducted several joint training sessions and preparations at home in Kranj, Ljubljana, and Šmartno pri Litiji, as well as in Innsbruck, Austria. According to coach and national team selector Gorazd Hren, they used the preparations for selections and forming the final team traveling to the international competition. "We are heading to the competition with a strong and sizable team, but world silver medalist Mia Krampl, who is focusing mainly on bouldering and speed training for the Olympic Games this year, and European champion Lučka Rakovec, who is just returning to regular training after a short break, will still miss it. The competitive hiatus was long, but the team atmosphere is good and everyone is eager to compete, so I expect a solid performance and hope that under current conditions it won't differ much from what we're used to."







Slovenia's top sport climber Janja Garnbret took second place in Briançon last year, with two more Slovenians in the final. Mia Krampl finished fourth and Vita Lukan seventh. Domen Škofic placed seventh in the final.







The Saturday broadcast of the competition will also be available on Slovenia's Television 2nd channel. The event starts at 19:40. A replay will air on Sunday. Detailed information and all results after qualifications, semifinals, and finals will be posted on the international federation's website.







The general sponsor of the Slovenian national sport climbing team is Prva osebna zavarovalnica.







We invite you to follow the sports competitions!