No Joking with Slovenian Sport Climbers

No Joking with Slovenian Sport Climbers

The Slovenian sport climbing team added several new milestones last year: the first triple world champion title in three disciplines, the first overall World Cup victory in bouldering, eight Slovenian competitors in the top ten of the overall World Cup standings for the first time, and the first medal from the Youth Olympic Games. To kick off the 2019 season in style — the year when the first athletes will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and most major competitions will be broadcast for the first time on TV Slovenija — they presented their goals on the first of the month in the new climbing centre Bolder Scena in Ljubljana. Even though it was April 1st, believe the Slovenian sport climbers when they say they mean business!





The Slovenian sport climbing team recorded the best results in the history of Slovenian sport climbing in 2018. They won 29 medals at major competitions — the most ever — with even more final appearances, plus 33 medals from the youth team. The team's strength is evidenced by Slovenia leading in the number of World Cup wins last year (nine in total), finishing second in the bouldering nations cup, and third in lead.





This season, Slovenia will be represented by female climbers Janja Garnbret, Katja Kadić, Tjaša Kalan, Mia Krampl, Julija Kruder, Vita Lukan, Mina Markovič, Lučka Rakovec, Urška Repušič, Lana Skušek, and Tjaša Slemenšek, and male climbers Martin Bergant, Matic Kotar, Jernej Kruder, Anže Peharc, Luka Potočar, Milan Preskar, Zan Sudar, Domen Škofic, and Gregor Vezonik. Selector Gorazd Hren presented the selected team and outlined the goals: "The primary goal is to remain one of the best national teams in the world in the future and to add another standout name to the already impressive list we have. This year is special because, in addition to the world and European championships, we have Olympic qualifications. The first qualifiers will come through the world championship, while the rest will fight for spots until the end of the season. Our goal is of course to fill the quota of two female and two male competitors for Tokyo."





As assistant selector and coach Luka Fonda said, the competitive year starts this weekend in Meiringen, Switzerland, with the first block of bouldering competitions, lead in the summer months, and speed interspersed: "All World Cup competitions will definitely be important, especially for competitors trying to qualify for the 2020 Olympics. The highlight of this season is the world championship in Japan in August, where the names of the first Olympic qualifiers will be known, and in November there will be a special qualification competition in France that only the top 20 from the world ranking can attend."





Coach Urh Čehovin also highlighted that Olympic qualifications make this one of the most important seasons for the team: "We started speed training at the beginning of the year in both Innsbruck and Celje, invited a Russian speed specialist to collaborate, and organised several national team speed training sessions in Celje. We prepared for the bouldering season in our home Koper, Innsbruck, and on trips to Brno and Nürnberg, did some competition simulations, and attended masters in Brno and Studio Bloc in Pfungstadt. We are very satisfied with the results of both and head to the first competition in Meiringen with optimism. Next month there will be the first national competition in Olympic combined in Celje, which will also be excellent training for the additional qualification competition in France. With the new acquisition Bolder Scena, it will be even easier for the team to fit in some additional quality training between competitions." Bolder Scena officially opened its doors on March 29, making Ljubljana richer with the largest bouldering centre in Slovenia, offering diverse challenges for beginners, recreational climbers, and top athletes, as it was designed with our national team in mind.





The best sport climbers in the world are forged in the youth ranks. As youth team selector Anže Štremfelj said, the most important competition for them this year is the world youth championship in August in Arco, in September they head to Italy for the European bouldering championship, they will finish the season with the European lead and speed championship in October in Russia, and in between they will attend European Youth Cup events. "Generations change quickly in the youth team, so it is important that newcomers integrate into our team as quickly as possible and that with quality work we ensure that we do not rely only on established climbers who already have one foot in the senior team and will leave our ranks next year."





Current world champion in bouldering and combined, and vice-champion in lead, Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO) is the first and only in the world to boast three world champion titles in three different sport climbing disciplines, and she was also the overall World Cup winner in lead and combined for the third consecutive time. "This year I will focus more on boulders, but I will try to be as prepared as possible for lead too. I will compete the whole season, so I can say I want to repeat last year's results and slightly improve my fourth place in the overall bouldering standings," announces the 20-year-old from Koroška, already looking towards the Olympics: "I will prepare as every year, but this year I will of course devote more training to speed as well. It can really shake up the cards, so I will make a step forward in this discipline this year. I think I don't need the world record in speed, but it would be great to be among the top three combined in speed." Last year a shoulder injury caught up with her in the second half of the season and hasn't had the last word yet. "Rest definitely helped heal the injury, but it recurred at the Studio Bloc competition, though our physiotherapist fixed it quickly for now. Still, I have to do preventive exercises to prevent such and other injuries," explained Garnbret, who is progressing not only in climbing but also in learning Japanese: "I can already read some Japanese, but I definitely won't speak fluently in Tokyo yet. I hope next year I can already have some conversations in Japanese."





Jernej Kruder (ŠPO PD Celje Matica) became the first Slovenian to win the overall World Cup in bouldering last year and has high goals this year too. "I would like to enter the new season with the same approach as last year. Calm head and enjoyment in climbing itself. I think I learned that last season and hope the same recipe works this year too. I surprised myself greatly with the results last year; even if things don't align this year as I want, I will still be happy that I love what I do. This year my main goal is Olympic qualification. That entails a lot of training for lead and of course speed too. I hope I will enjoy it to the fullest," said the 28-year-old from Celje, who showed very consistent form last year in an extremely branched bouldering top, as there were eight different winners across the seven 2018 World Cup competitions and the world championship: "I think there are about 50 or more competitors in the World Cup who can reach the podium. The differences are so small that sometimes a worse day form ruins the result by tens of places."





Gregor Vezonik (AK Ravne) also shone in bouldering with his first World Cup win and bronze from the world championship. "There is no simple answer to what was key for the breakthrough to the top. Top results are the consequence of many factors, and luckily things came together last year. Having someone at the very top beside you definitely helps. Everyone has their own style in which they are the best, and training together helps us learn from each other. A big plus is also the fact that we are very good friends. I am convinced that we all sometimes think, if he can, I can too," explained the 23-year-old from Ravne, who advanced from 50th to fifth place in the World Cup last year. Unlike most who will try all disciplines because of the Olympics, Vezonik remains a bouldering specialist: "After such a season in bouldering, it seems senseless to redirect focus elsewhere. There is still so much I want to achieve, so I remain devoted to boulders."





Domen Škofic (ŠPO PD Radovljica) finished the lead World Cup third overall, stepped onto the highest podium at the last WC event in China after a two-year break, and took fifth at the world championship. "It always feels good when I am well prepared, so I definitely won't slack on training this year. It would be great to start this year as relaxed and confident as I finished last year," emphasised the 24-year-old from Radovljica, whose flagship discipline is lead, but in light of the upcoming Olympics, boulders and speed are becoming increasingly important: "I do practically as many boulder trainings as lead, since the disciplines go hand in hand. Speed is a special thing, but I have also done quite a few good trainings this year. Since Janja paused schooling, we regularly train together — and we definitely don't lack motivation."





Last season marked the first time eight Slovenian competitors were in the top ten of the overall World Cup standings. In bouldering, Kruder won, Garnbret was fourth, Katja Kadić and Vezonik fifth. "This season will be slightly different from the others. The main goal remains direct qualification for the Olympics in Tokyo. That means I will attend some speed and lead competitions in addition to the bouldering World Cup. My first season highlight will thus be the world championship in August. I enter the season optimistic, thinking that successful preparations are behind me. As always, achieving goals will require a bit of sports luck and strong fan support," said the 23-year-old from Ljubljana, who took the recent bouldering masters as an opportunity "to still experiment with different approaches and focus on fine details to put the icing on the cake before the World Cup starts".





In the final lead World Cup standings, four Slovenian women were in the top ten — besides winner Garnbret, Tjaša Kalan sixth, Mina Markovič eighth, and Mia Krampl tenth. Kalan (AO PD Kranj) successfully returned to competition last year after a year off due to knee surgery and achieved her best overall result, which she wants to improve this year. "I dedicated the start of this season to boulders because I believe they greatly help with lead climbing. From strength exercises, coordination, and harder moves that I will transfer to routes in the coming weeks, thereby improving my primary discipline. You will see me only in lead at World Cup competitions and championships, but I like to try boulders and of course speed," said the 22-year-old from Kranj.





Mina Markovič (ŠPK Plus) is the team member with the longest tenure and an astonishing collection of medals, dedicated to lead in recent years. "Climbing time has halved in this period, wall height and shape remained approximately the same, so routes have become more concentrated, physically, dynamically, and technically demanding. Lead has also transformed from pure endurance to truly holistic, risky, and explosive climbing. This requires constant monitoring of trends, one's own technique, and continuous adaptation, of course while maintaining and upgrading physical and mental preparedness," outlined the 31-year-old competitor from Sežana, for whom last year's slightly weaker season is motivation for the future: "Last year really had no podiums for me, but I didn't take it personally. I know what I did well, and I also know where the mistakes, doubts, and still large reserves were. This gave me new energy, drive, and incentive for reflection and progress. I will enter the season with the start of lead World Cup competitions, but that does not mean I did not train boulders and follow the team in training, preparations, and selections."





Mia Krampl (AO PD Kranj), European youth bouldering champion, appeared in three senior lead World Cup finals last year, achieved her career success with fourth place at the last competition, and took seventh at the world championship. "Last year good bouldering results gave me confirmation that I can achieve something in this discipline too, so I will dedicate the first part of the season to bouldering competitions, but my dominant discipline remains lead, to which I will still devote a bit more attention. Speed is still my weak point and a lot of work is needed if I want to be competitive with other female competitors in the selection for the upcoming Olympics," highlighted the 18-year-old from Kranj, who is motivated to learn from the best: "Training with such top competitors only encourages progress, as I also want top results in the future. In addition, some team members have much more experience and knowledge, which is an additional plus for youth in senior waters."





Vita Lukan (ŠPO PD Radovljica), last year one senior World Cup finalist, otherwise world youth lead champion and bouldering bronze medallist, won silver at the Youth Olympic Games, which Lučka Rakovec also attended. "The Youth Olympic Games were a unique and quite demanding test. During the competition it was clear that the system allows no mistakes, especially if you are not at the top in one discipline, which for me is speed. Regarding training, I think it is better to maintain readiness in lead and bouldering at a high level than to delve into speed and neglect the other disciplines," emphasises the 18-year-old from Radovljica, who intends to focus even more on senior competitions this year, but will have to skip some at the start of the season due to school obligations: "This year will be extremely important not only because of the selection for the Olympics, but also because of the European and world championships. Due to the even greater amount of training, competitions, and additional pressure, I also think it is important to get through the season without injuries."





The Slovenian para-climbing team is also preparing for the new season, represented this year under selector Jurij Ravnik by Tanja Glušič, Gregor Selak, and Matej Arh. Their competitions start in July, so they are currently dedicating themselves to training and awaiting the decision on the para-climbing world championship, which most likely will not be in Tokyo but in Briançon, with the climbing community worldwide expressing disagreement also through a petition on the website Change.org.





The bouldering World Cup for the senior team starts on April 5 in Meiringen, lead on July 4 in Villars, also in Switzerland, the world championship in mid-August in Japan, the European championship in September in Poland and October in Scotland, and in November the Olympic qualification competition in France. Most of the most important competitions will be broadcast by Televizija Slovenija. "This year Prva osebna zavarovalnica is also taking over general sponsorship of World Cup and world championship TV broadcasts on TV Slovenija's second programme. Six broadcasts are currently secured, and together we will ensure that this sport gets even closer to the wider public," said Boštjan Škufca Zaveršek, executive director of Prva osebna zavarovalnica, which is the general sponsor of the Slovenian sport climbing team.





"Televizija Slovenija was already the first with the broadcast of the competition in Kranj to recognise the potential of sport climbing, and now it is the first national television in the world to broadcast the majority of World Cup and world championship competitions. This will certainly contribute to even greater recognition of sport climbing, and the competitors will inspire youth to start engaging in this sport," emphasised Matej Planko, general secretary of the Alpine Association of Slovenia. TV Slovenija will broadcast finals on channel 2 from Meiringen (6. 4.), Chongqing (28. 4.), Munich (18. 5.), Chamonix (13. 7.), and of course Kranj (29. 9.), as well as the world championship in Hachioji (11.–21. 8.) and the Olympic qualification competition in Toulouse (29.-30. 11.).