Slovenian sport climbers heading to the World Championships

Slovenia's top sport climbers are heading to the Bern 2023 World Championships.

13 climbers heading to the World Championships in Bern

The Bern 2023 World Championships, the biggest sport climbing event of the year, is just around the corner. Members of the Slovenian sport climbing team will also be competing for the top medals there.

From August 1 to 12, the Sport Climbing World Championships will take place in Bern. Among the 631 climbers from 56 countries competing for medals and the first tickets to the Olympic Games will be Slovenian climbers. The Slovenian team will compete in four disciplines: bouldering, lead, boulder-lead combined, and paraclimbing.


Six competitors will compete in three disciplines: Janja Garnbret, Mia Krampl, Vita Lukan, Luka Potočar, Anže Peharc, and Zan Lovenjak Sudar in lead, bouldering, and boulder-lead combined.


In addition to them, specialists for individual disciplines will travel to Bern: Lucija Tarkuš and Sara Čopar for lead, and Julija Kruder and Katja Debevec for bouldering.


Paraclimbers Manca Smrekar, Tanja Glušič, and Matej Arh will also compete at the World Championships.

The World Championships bring additional pressure for the Slovenian team, just like for other teams, especially given that competitors are fighting not only for medals but also for the first Olympic "tickets" on the same event. "Precisely because of the Olympic qualifications, the entire year has turned out a bit differently, more tactically, more thoughtfully. Not just from slightly different preparations for the competition, since it's a combined format, but also through selections of competitors and individual events—who, when, and where," described this season's selector and coach of the Slovenian team, Gorazd Hren.

"We assembled the aforementioned team based on training results, simulations, primarily based on past World Cup events. We had in mind above all who will be the best in the combined and who deserves to compete in an individual discipline. Based on individual events, we made a final assessment of who deserves it the most and who, in our opinion, has the greatest chances for a good result."


"Of course, our best chance is Janja, who without a doubt aims highest and thus counts on securing an Olympic ticket already in Bern. We also have other candidates with the same goal, and with good performances they are capable of putting together, they can compete. The fact is that other countries have the same goals, and the battle will be relentless."


For the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, 10 tickets will be awarded: the top male and female speed climbers and the top three in the Olympic boulder-lead format, men and women.


The main contender for medals is Janja Garnbret, Slovenia's and the world's best climber, Olympic champion, 2019 World Champion in lead, bouldering, and combined, current European Champion in lead, bouldering, and combined, and the climber who is pushing boundaries this season, having become the owner of the milestone 40th World Cup win.


The World Championships and the first Olympic qualifications are the highlight of Janja's season and the key competition she is focusing on this year. "The goals at the championships are clear—I go to win every competition, and it won't be any different at the upcoming championships. Everyone trains to achieve their goal. My goal is always victory." Janja is also aware that second or third place can lead to the Olympics. "Over the years, I've learned that second or third place isn't a disaster if that's the best you can show that day. The key goal of the World Championships is, of course, to qualify for the Olympics, and if I succeed with a bronze medal, the goal is achieved, and I see no reason for disappointment."

Mia Krampl, 2019 World silver medalist in lead, 2021 World silver medalist in combined, and current European silver medalist in the new Olympic boulder-lead combined, is calm about the course of this season. "Above all, I'm satisfied that I have consistent results in lead and qualified for the final in all events. This is definitely confirmation that my form is going in the right direction, and I hope I can climb well at the championships too."


Luka Potočar, 2021 World silver medalist in lead and 2022 European silver medalist in lead, has not yet achieved last year's excellent results this season. "The World Championships will definitely be one of the tougher competitions in my career this year. Preparations for Bern were usual, meaning classic training; there simply wasn't time for more," added Potočar.


Vita Lukan is heading to Bern with much better feelings. With her win in Briançon, she got confirmation that her form in lead is at a high level and she can contend for top places in Bern too. "The win gave me quite a bit of confidence, and I hope I'll be able to use it well. But I'm aware, as I've experienced it many times myself, that good physical preparation is meaningless if your own expectations bury you in the end. That's why championships are a bit more mentally demanding for me, because usually at the start of the season, a plan is made that peaks form for a specific month. However, I think I've caught a good competitive rhythm this year and feel a bit more relaxed with each event."

Three paraclimbers, Matej Arh, Tanja Glušič, and Manca Smrekar, will also be in Bern. The latter won a silver medal this year at the World Cup in Innsbruck in the AU3 category.

Coach and selector Luka Mužar on expectations for the championships: "As before, they will combine Tanja's B1-B2-B3 category, meaning she will compete with athletes who see better than her. But we know she's at a level where she can compete with the best. New large holds that can be smooth on top and large volumes that change the wall's dimensions could pose problems for her. Manca is climbing great and slowly trusting her foot; I think she'll climb really well and reach the podium, even though her category will be combined too. Matej rips holds and volumes, so I see him in the final. He's ready. But as everywhere in life, even at big competitions, the planets sometimes need to align a bit for good results."

BERN 2023 SCHEDULE


August 1: men's bouldering, qualifiers
August 2: women's lead, qualifiers
August 3: men's lead, qualifiers; women's bouldering, qualifiers
August 4: men's bouldering, semifinals & finals
August 5: women's bouldering, semifinals & finals
August 6: women's and men's lead, semifinals & finals
August 7: rest day
August 8: women's and men's paraclimbing, qualifiers
August 9: women's and men's boulder-lead combined, semifinals
August 10: women's and men's speed, qualifiers & finals; women's and men's paraclimbing, finals
August 11: women's boulder-lead combined, finals
August 12: men's boulder-lead combined, finals


Competitions can be watched on the Eurosport sports channel.


In this regard, we already invite you to the first event after Bern; on September 8 and 9, there will be a World Cup lead event in Koper, where you can cheer for our heroes live.