Janja Garnbret world runner-up in lead

Slovenian sport climbing heroine Janja Garnbret reached the top of the final route in Innsbruck in front of a thousands-strong crowd, but lost the battle against time as Austrian Jessica Pilz, the new world champion in lead climbing, beat her by eleven seconds. The other Slovenian finalist Mia Krampl climbed to seventh place at her first senior world championships.



Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO), the overall winner of the World Cup in lead for the last two seasons and leading in this season's standings, also showed her top form at the season's most important competition, but unfortunately lost the battle by seconds. Two years ago, at the age of 17, she became the second youngest world champion in history in lead at the World Championships in Paris, but at 19, due to eleven seconds slower climbing to the top of the final route, she had to concede to Austrian Jessica Pilz. Since both reached the top of both the final and semi-final routes, time decided, even though the exceptional Carinthian is the only competitor who reached all four tops in Innsbruck - in qualifications, semi-finals, and finals. "I'm really happy with second place, but also a bit disappointed. I think no lead climber should be ranked by time, regardless of position. I'm glad I climbed all routes to the top and proved I can climb well under pressure. I knew Jessica had climbed the route, I knew time would decide, but it's a bit sad that it came down to just a few seconds. The semi-final was too easy, we saw four tops, and no climber could show who was better," said the 19-year-old Carinthian with a bittersweet taste, who this year won or took second place at all competitions she entered, and in Innsbruck she still faces a series of challenges with bouldering at the forefront: "I'm proud to be first or second all season, starting the world championships with a medal is really great. Of course, I wanted to defend my lead world champion title, but since I haven't competed in bouldering at the world championships yet, I know I can win there or anything can happen, like in lead, but I'm looking forward to it." Third was South Korean Jain Kim, the 2014 world champion in Gijón.



Garnbret's success was complemented by 18-year-old Mia Krampl (AO PD Kranj), who climbed to an excellent seventh place at her first senior world championships in Tyrol, Austria. "After the semi-final, I didn't expect to make the final, but I did, and for the final I told myself it was a reward and to just climb as I know how. I was really relaxed because it was something I wanted and achieved. The final route was much harder than the semi-final, and I don't know if I could have gone higher, maybe one more move, as I ran out of strength," assessed the Kranj native, who with seventh place also equalled her best World Cup placement in lead among seniors, while a week ago in junior competition she became European champion in bouldering, but "the season isn't over yet, nor is the world championships, speed and boulders await, which I'm already looking forward to. End of September there's still the event in Kranj, personally one of the most important World Cups for me, as it's in my home town."



"Mixed feelings prevail. We're very happy, a medal at the world championships is a big success, Janja did everything in her power, and actually she's the only climber who topped all routes at the world championships, but at the same time not the world champion. I'm a bit disappointed with the too easy semi-final, in the end eleven seconds decided, which don't belong in lead climbing. But that's how it is - sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. I'm very glad that Mia also made the final and climbed the final route well, seventh place is really a nice success. But I can't forget Lučka Rakovec, who climbed the final for me, but unfortunately stepped on the quickdraw during climbing, as the judges decided and took away her height, so she unfortunately missed the final," summed up the impressions after the final the selector of the Slovenian sport climbing team Gorazd Hren and continued optimistically: "Only the first small part of the world championships is behind us, more - hopefully - finals await, and I expect we'll celebrate more medals."



The final slipped away from Lučka Rakovec (ŠD Proteus) due to bad luck in the semi-final, as she accidentally stepped on the quickdraw intended for protection, so they lowered her semi-final height, which would have surely qualified her for the final, thus the 17-year-old from Ljubljana ended her first senior world championships in 22nd place. "I climbed really well, but somewhere in the middle of the route I stepped on the quickdraw, which I wasn't aware of, but the judges decided so after the protest. I'm still very satisfied with my climbing, even though the result doesn't show it. I'm glad that in senior competition I managed to climb so well, as without the protest I would have made the final," said Rakovec.



In Innsbruck, the Slovenian colours in lead were also represented by Katja Kadić (PK Škofja Loka) and Vita Lukan (ŠPO PD Radovljica), who finished 27th just below the semi-final cutoff, Tjaša Kalan (AO PD Kranj) ended the championships in Innsbruck in 29th place, Urška Repušič (ŠPO PD Kozjak) was 34th, Mina Markovič (ŠPK Plus), bronze in lead at the 2016 World Championships in Paris and silver at the 2014 World Championships in Gijón, finished 43rd. "Qualifications didn't go as planned, because I know I prepared very well for this championships, but unfortunately it didn't work out this time. I know everyone prepares maximally for the world championships, I also added a lot, so it's hard to watch as a spectator, but at the same time I happily follow it, support the really excellent Slovenian performances and keep fingers crossed for the best results ahead," said the 30-year-old sport climber from Sežana, former three-time overall World Cup winner in lead.



Tomorrow, the men compete again in lead - in the semi-finals scheduled at 13:00, Domen Škofic and Luka Potočar (both ŠPO PD Radovljica) qualified from the Slovenians, and the final will be on Sunday at 19:00.