Janja Garnbret already overall winner...

With bronze in China, Janja Garnbret is already the overall winner of the 2017 World Cup in lead and combined.



Sport climber Janja Garnbret won a bronze medal at the penultimate lead World Cup event in Xiamen today, thus securing the overall 2017 World Cup victory in both lead and combined before the November finale in Kranj, where she achieved a record number of points. Mina Markovič returned to the top ranks with fifth place, while Domen Škofic placed 17th in China.



At the penultimate lead World Cup event in the Chinese Xiamen, rain and wind caused headaches for organizers and competitors, leading to the cancellation of the women's lead semifinals, so all thirteen competitors who topped both routes in qualifications competed in the final, including both Slovenian representatives.



After winning the first event of the Chinese tour a week ago, Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO) climbed to a bronze medal in Xiamen, while Belgian Anak Verhoeven celebrated her first win this year, and 16-year-old American Ashima Shiraishi claimed her first senior medal with second place. "The competition was very delicate, no one knew if it would even happen. Ultimately due to the cancellation of the semifinals, and since no one knew if the final would even be possible, you didn't feel like you were in a competition anymore, so it was mentally quite demanding," assessed the 18-year-old sport climber from Šmartno pri Slovenj Gradcu, who has two third places in this year's lead World Cup, otherwise stepping on the top podium five times - in Villars, Chamonix, Briançon, Edinburgh, and Wujiang.



Garnbret has also secured the overall lead World Cup victory this year before the final event on 11 and 12 November in Kranj, while she was second in the overall bouldering standings. She is unbeatable in the combined World Cup, where she wrote history with a record number of points (1100), testifying to her versatility and an excellent foundation for the Olympics. "This season was the most demanding of all, so I'm even happier that I endured physically and mentally the entire season and on top of that managed to be on the podium in the overall standings in both bouldering and lead. This year before the lead season started, I didn't feel in lead form, but I was much mentally stronger than last year, especially since I didn't expect to win the overall standings before Kranj, where I'm already looking forward to much more relaxed climbing. I didn't think much about the combined during the season, but I'm very happy to have won, and with a record number of points," Garnbret smiled.



Mina Markovič (ŠPK Plus) also reached the same height (33+) as Janja Garnbret and Jessica Pilz, who finished fourth, in the final, but took more time, earning fifth place and returning to the top after three events without a final. "I'm satisfied with the climbing in the final and the result, especially given the events of the last competitions. The climbing in the final was still far from really good and with quite a few mistakes, but still enough for the third height and fifth place, where time decided. The form is at a really high level, which I know and have shown all year in qualifications, even if the results might say otherwise. I'm happy that I could show a piece of that in this competition and get at least a taste of the old feelings and confirmation that I can easily compete with the best," summarized the 29-year-old competitor from Sežana, three-time overall lead World Cup winner (2011, 2012, and 2015), currently seventh in the overall standings.



Unfortunately, Slovenian climber Domen Škofic (ŠPO PD Radovljica) missed the final, achieving 17th place in the rainy semifinals, but remains fourth in the overall 2017 lead World Cup standings, where he won last year. In Xiamen, first and second were Japanese Keiichiro Korenaga and Tomoa Narasaki, third Chinese YuFei Pan.



"The competition was quite demanding, as bad weather kept interrupting it and until the end we didn't know what would happen with the semifinals and final. In the end, it was roughly equal for all competitors, but we might have let the situation disturb us a bit too much. With the girls' performance in qualifications, where both topped both routes, and in the final, where Mina made a few too many mistakes in the middle part for the icing on the cake, I'm quite satisfied and believe they will satisfy and excite the home crowd at the last event in Kranj. Domen climbed excellently in the first route in qualifications for second place, but unfortunately made a mistake in the second. The semifinal was mentally tough for him due to the mentioned conditions, and in the key part he chose a safer combination of moves, which didn't pay off. Domen will go all or nothing in Kranj, and what that brings, I believe you'll come see live," said selector of the Slovenian sport climbing team Gorazd Hren, and as Janja's coach added: "I'm very happy that Janja repeated last year's success and won the overall standings in lead and combined again. This year we both invested a lot of work and time into the season, preparing for both bouldering and lead, and it's right that we were rewarded with results. Janja's form this year is definitely at the highest level so far and I hope we succeed like that in the future too."