Silver for Janja Garnbret at the World Games

After two initial victories in the 2017 World Cup, sport climber Janja Garnbret claimed a silver medal in lead climbing at the World Games, hosted this year by Wrocław, on July 23. This was the debut appearance of the 18-year-old Carinthian at the Olympic Games for non-Olympic sports, while the more experienced members of the Slovenian sport climbing team, Domen Škofic and Mina Markovič, finished fifth and seventh respectively.



At the World Games in Poland, Slovenia is represented by 16 athletes, including three sport climbers who have traditionally secured a Slovenian medal. Sport climbing was first featured at the World Games in 2005, when Natalija Gros won silver in Germany; in 2009, Maja Vidmar triumphed in Taipei; and in 2013, Mina Markovič celebrated victory in Colombia.



At her debut World Games, Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO) climbed a new medal for Slovenia. "I've been looking forward to the World Games since the start of the season; I competed with pleasure, and both the organization and the competition were very much to my liking. I wasn't entirely satisfied with my semi-final performance; I couldn't focus enough on the route and show my maximum. In the final, I relaxed, felt good, it's a pity the route was a bit too easy again, then one hard move where all the girls on the podium fell. Nevertheless, second place is great and I'm very satisfied," summarized her feelings after the competition by the current world champion and leader in the World Cup overall standings, who reached the same height as the winner, European champion Belgian Anak Verhoeven, but qualification results decided the final placement. Third was Frenchwoman Julia Chanourdie. "The opening of the Games was something special; I was the flag bearer, which happened to me for the first time, and I've never experienced such a big event before. I approached the World Games like any other competition, with the desire to climb as well as possible and achieve the best result, as these were my first and last World Games, so they mean a bit more to me than others," added the 18-year-old Carinthian, who in 2020 can look forward to the Olympics in Tokyo, where sport climbing will enter the Olympic family.



For the third time at the World Games, current European runner-up Mina Markovič (ŠPK Plus) competed, finishing seventh this year after her victory four years ago. "Competing at the World Games for the third time is a nice achievement; there are very few qualification spots, so you have to show a lot to qualify. Even though there are fewer competitors numerically, the competition is fierce and well-prepared. The competition was good, the route intense, short, powerful, so I have to be satisfied with the climbing, but not with the result," said the 29-year-old from Sežana, who won in lead four years ago, while in 2009 in Taipei she placed sixth: "Since the World Games are held every four years, they have special weight; having a good result at such a competition, like my victory in Cali in 2014, is a nice achievement that goes into your career resume. Even if they slightly disrupt the World Cup rhythm, they are important and definitely worth participating in."



In the men's competition, Domen Škofic (ŠPO PD Radovljica) represented Slovenian colors, qualifying for fifth place, while four years ago he was eighth. "I'm not satisfied with the climbing, as in qualifications I fell two moves after the key move when I awkwardly twisted my ankle midway up the wall, but fortunately it didn't affect the continuation of the competition. In the final route, I started relaxed, but unfortunately missed the holds in the jump, which is really a pity because I couldn't continue, although the route looked promising. But that's climbing, where one hold decides, otherwise I'm satisfied with the result," assessed his performance in Wrocław by the 23-year-old from Radovljica, and about the World Games he added: "Personally, the World Cup means much more to me and I'm more motivated because there the full competition competes, so it's much harder to achieve a better result. Of course, it's hard to qualify for the World Games, as only champions or World Cup winners compete, which makes the competition more interesting." First and second places were celebrated by Japanese Keiichiro Korenaga and Yuki Hada, third by Canadian Sean McColl.



"The qualifications surprised us by being quite difficult, which is of course fine. The final was okay, unfortunately all three girls on the podium fell on the same move, so they were ranked by qualification results; in the men, it was a selective jump on which Domen unfortunately fell. I'm happy with the result that we got a medal, but honestly I hoped for one more. I'm not disappointed at all, as only the best gather at the World Games, like in the World Championship final, where it's not easy to get a medal," put the finishing touch on the selector of the Slovenian sport climbing team Gorazd Hren.



The sport climbing caravan returns to the World Cup in lead, the next competition is already this coming weekend - July 28 and 29 in French Briançon.