Sport climbers battle for world medals...

Sport climbers in the battle for world medals and Olympic tickets.



August will be marked by the World Championship in sport climbing, where more than 600 of the most successful sport climbers from 39 countries will compete from 11 to 21 August in Hachioji, Japan, including the Slovenian sport climbing national team, which is heading into the battle for world medals as well as for the first tickets to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.







The Hachioji 2019 World Championship in lead, bouldering, speed climbing and the combination of all three disciplines is the most important test of the year for the Slovenian sport climbing national team. "The goals are of course clear – we are aiming for finals, medals and titles, but at the same time we are aware that the competition is enormous, so we will take it step by step, round by round. Never before has so much been at stake as this year, since in addition to the world champion titles in individual disciplines, competitors will also be fighting for the first tickets to compete at the Olympic Games. It is natural that the Olympic Games are a great desire, but we are largely focused on the individual disciplines. All combination competitors have of course trained all three disciplines, but I repeat once again – the greatest focus is on the competitors' individual disciplines. We must also be aware that the combination system is such that a good result in the main discipline is the most important," emphasises selector and coach of the Slovenian sport climbing national team Gorazd Hren.







Slovenia will be represented in the land of the rising sun by 13 members of the Slovenian sport climbing national team. As revealed by Hren, Janja Garnbret, Mia Krampl, Lučka Rakovec and Vita Lukan will compete in all individual disciplines and the combination in the women's category, while Jernej Kruder, Anže Peharc and Domen Škofic will do so in the men's category. Mina Markovič, Tjaša Kalan, Martin Bergant and Luka Potočar are heading to the World Championship as lead specialists, while Urška Repušič and Gregor Vezonik are boulder specialists. The competitors will be accompanied by selector and coach Gorazd Hren, coaches Luka Fonda and Urh Čehovin, and physiotherapist Peter Hribar.







The competition schedule in Hachioji will be very intense and demanding, as it is spread over eleven days with only one rest day planned. Bouldering competitions are scheduled from 11 to 13 August, lead competitions continue on 14 and 15 August, and the speed event is on 17 August. After the entire preliminary part of the championship, the combination competition begins on 18 August, with the top 20 competitors (who competed in all three disciplines) from the initial part qualifying. The qualification part of the combination ends on 19 August, and the top eight advance to the Olympic combination final, which will be held on 20 and 21 August, explained coach Luka Fonda, who also clarified how the 20 Olympic places for next year will be filled: "The top seven women and seven men in the combination at this year's World Championship qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The next additional Olympic qualifications await us at the end of November in France, where the top six will earn their places. Japan, as the Olympic host country, has one place guaranteed for each gender, the committee will also award a special invitation to one woman and one man, and the remaining five places will be filled next year by continental champions."







TV Slovenia will broadcast all final competitions live on channel 2. On the same day in the afternoon at 16:30 or 17:00, recordings of the finals will also be shown (except 17 August – speed climbing). >>> SCHEDULE WC Hachioji 2019



The competitors and coaches have also adapted their preparations to the most important competition of the season. "We have been preparing for the World Championship throughout the entire season, but longer specific preparations were not possible because we are already deep into the season and it was neither temporally nor logistically feasible, as we had just returned from the French tour. However, last weekend we held a joint training session for boulders and lead on the same day, similar to how the combination will unfold at the World Championship. We will hold a similar joint training this weekend just before departing for Japan, where we leave on 5 August," explained coach Urh Čehovin.







Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO) is the first and only climber in the world who can boast three world champion titles in three different disciplines. In 2016 she became world champion in lead in Paris, last year in Innsbruck she became world champion in bouldering and combination and vice-champion in lead, and as the youngest competitor in history also the first sport climber with a triple gold in lead, bouldering and combination. "I want to repeat last year's success at the World Championship in Innsbruck, but since this World Championship opens the doors to the Olympic Games, I want to qualify already through the championship. The trainings have gone as all previous ones, I devoted more attention to lead and bouldering, but I also managed to do some speed training," says the 20-year-old from the Koroška region with high goals as she heads to Japan, who set a new milestone in the bouldering part of the 2019 World Cup season with six consecutive victories, achieved her personal best in speed (9.46 s), and also stepped onto the podium twice in lead this year. At the first World Cup competitions in lead climbing, an extremely strong very young Asian competition surprised everyone, and at the last one in Briançon Garnbret was even the oldest finalist: "The feeling was a bit funny, but that's how it is, the sport has to develop. Just as I started competing at 15 and was among the best in the world, it was logical that it would happen again. I was not the first and I will not be the last." The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) published the current ranking in the special combination standings, where the two best performances in each discipline from the World Cup count. The Slovenian sport climbing heroine is reliably in first place, which indicates that she is currently the most versatile climber, and for Hachioji "the key will be to achieve a good result in lead and bouldering and to give my maximum in speed. The cards can quickly shuffle, so it is hard to say what will ultimately influence the result, but I definitely want to keep a calm head and enjoy it as much as possible."







The most experienced member of the national team, Mina Markovič (ŠPK Plus), with five medals – three bronze in combination in total and silver and bronze in lead – is the Slovenian competitor with the most medals from world championships; it has already been ten years since her first. "It really has been more than ten years since the first World Championship, but I remember it very well. I am heading to my eighth World Championship with quite similar feelings as back then, still enthusiastic and with that climbing spark in my eyes, and also with much more experience, though I admit perhaps a bit less burdened than at previous championships," says the 31-year-old from Sežana, a lead specialist. Due to a wrist injury she missed the start of the season, but at her first competition in Briançon she successfully reached the semifinal: "The rehabilitation dragged on a bit, as the wrist injury proved to be much more serious than it initially appeared. In the meantime I of course trained and did what I could, so my climbing fitness is not bad, which I showed at the competition in Briançon. The wrist still limits me in certain positions and mobility is not perfect, so much depends on the route setting and flow. But I still have some time until the competition and I hope for the best."







Mia Krampl (AO PD Kranj) is also high on the IFSC combination ranking, in eighth place; she took seventh place in lead at last year's World Championship, this year won bronze in Munich – her first World Cup podium – and placed fourth in lead in Briançon. "I am happy that my work and effort have paid off this year with good results, which at the same time show that I am well prepared, and I hope I will manage to maintain this form until the end of the season, especially for the most important test – the World Championship," emphasises the 19-year-old climber from Golnik, who missed part of the bouldering World Cup season due to matura but still achieved her best placements this year: "As a young athlete, every competition is an opportunity to gain new experience. The downside is that there is less time for training between competitions and it is harder to maintain a high level throughout the season. I did miss some competitions during matura, but I focused even more on training, which paid off later in the competitions."







Lučka Rakovec (PK FA) can also boast her most successful season so far; she is also in the top ten in the combination standings and is stringing excellent placements in both bouldering and lead. "Until this season I was convinced that my primary discipline is lead and I still feel most at home there, but perhaps after my results in bouldering this year I will soon change that opinion. Of course there is still much room for progress in all disciplines, but it seems to me that, apart from speed which we do not train much, I can progress the most in bouldering," reflects the 18-year-old from Ljubljana, who already competed in combination last year at the Youth Olympic Games and was second at this year's national championship in combination; she believes it is "extremely important to be as well prepared as possible in all three disciplines. As we saw from the results at the Youth Olympics and the national championship, very good results (final placement) in two disciplines and a slightly worse one in the third are sufficient. Of course, with such a competition format, anything can happen."







In the men's category, the highest-ranked Slovenian in the current combination standings is Jernej Kruder (ŠPO PD Celje Matica) in 16th place; this year he also became the first national champion in combination and set a new Slovenian record in speed climbing with 6.94 s. "This year I perhaps devoted a little more time to speed than last year, but I still spent most of my time on the wall for bouldering and lead. At the World Championship I of course place all my hopes on bouldering. It is hard to assess my form, but I hope I find the right rhythm again and climb as I know how," says the 28-year-old from Škofja vas, who took second place at the 2014 World Championship in bouldering in Munich, and last year and this year won several World Cup medals, including a bouldering victory in Moscow this year. Together with Garnbret, he is the only one in the national team who competed in all competitions this season, so they had an intense competitive pace right up to the World Championship: "So far I am keeping up and fortunately the desire to compete has not left me just before the World Championship. Many competitions await me in the autumn period and I must admit that I am constantly looking for gaps in the calendar for when I can again go on a longer rock climbing holiday."



This year's best Slovenian boulderer was Anže Peharc (AO PD Kranj), who with bronze in bouldering in Chongqing stepped onto a World Cup podium for the first time in his career while showing consistent form throughout the season. "In Tokyo I will of course try the combination, but I will still place the greatest emphasis on bouldering, as that is the discipline with which I can also secure a good result in the combination," announces the 22-year-old from Tržič, eighth in the overall 2019 World Cup bouldering standings: "This year, because of the Olympic Games, there has already been greater competition at World Cup events than in previous years, as several lead climbers are also competing in bouldering events. I have already confirmed my good physical preparation this year at World Cup competitions and I intend to do so again at the World Championship. I believe that good mental preparation will be the most important for a strong placement in Japan, so in recent days, in addition to training, I am devoting a lot of attention to that as well."







Gregor Vezonik (AK Ravne) is heading to Japan as a bouldering specialist; he returned from last year's World Championship with bouldering bronze, but this season he has not quite (yet) found that rhythm. "I started preparations for the World Championship the same way as for the start of this year's World Cup season. Fortunately I had the opportunity to spend more time at home, so I completed most of my training on the home wall. I learned a great deal from this year's World Cup, so during preparations for the World Championship I paid more attention to the mistakes I noticed during the season," says the 24-year-old from the Koroška region, who is one of the few who decided to remain focused on bouldering and not shift to combination: "I simply felt that I was too far behind in the other two disciplines and had no realistic chances for the Olympic Games, so I directed my attention to the things I still want to achieve in bouldering."







The most successful Slovenian competitor in lead is Domen Škofic (ŠPO PD Radovljica), who was third overall in last year's World Cup in lead and a regular finalist at the last three World Championships, achieving two fourth places and one fifth. After last year's fifth place in Innsbruck he said that a world champion must take risks, otherwise he cannot become world champion. Where is the line between good preparation and risk? "My opinion remains the same. I think that line cannot be described – you can only feel it. Certainly both mental and physical preparation must be at a very high level. Every season is full of surprises, so you have to be ready for anything," reflects the 25-year-old from Radovljica, who is already looking forward to the World Championship: "Two finals out of three World Cup lead competitions give me confirmation that my physical preparation is good enough for a superb result in Japan. I am only paying additional attention to confident and relaxed performance."