Šuštar wins, Habjan third...

Šuštar wins, Habjan third at the EC ice climbing competition in Slovakia.



The expanded team of Slovenian competitors achieved a record success at European-format competitions at the third round of the European Cup in ice climbing in Žilina on December 8. As many as six competitors qualified for the final, with Maja Šuštar stepping onto the podium, celebrating her premiere victory in European competition, and this year's newcomer in competitive ice climbing Miha Habjan, who surprised with a bronze medal. It is the best placement so far for both and also the greatest Slovenian success in the European Cup.



A week after the ice climbing event in Domžale, 55 female and male competitors from ten countries competed at the third stop of the European Cup in Slovakia, this time in routes adapted for ice climbing or drytooling with difficulties from D6 to D9 in an indoor climbing center, where the organizers well spiced up the climbing on the 25-meter-high wall with a significant overhang. Due to the four-minute time limit for climbing the qualification routes, speed decided qualification for the evening final, but as many as six out of eight Slovenian competitors managed to break into the finalists, which is the greatest Slovenian team success to date.



Maja Šuštar (AO Domžale), who finished just off the podium at the Domžale event, managed to hold on to her leading position after qualifications also in the final, achieving her baptismal victory in the European Cup in Žilina, after winning second place in Slovakia last year. The competitor from the Tuhinj Valley climbed the highest in the final performance, just below the top of the route, where her seven-minute time limit expired. Second was Slovak Maria Šoltesova, third the young Czech competitor Aneta Loužecka. "The competition among women was somewhat reduced this time, but the wall and routes were practically a copy of my home training ground, overhang, stepping on holds and striking with crampons into limited areas of the wall is something I regularly practice in the last two years. The leading position after qualifications did represent a certain amount of stress, but given the fact that all participants there are fighting for the same thing - overcoming the set route, I kept my cool in the final and climbed as I know how," was modest Šuštar, who was fourth in Domžale, while she did not compete at the first EC event in Bern. In addition, she finished for the second year in a row as the overall winner of the Slovenian-Croatian-Serbian ice climbing cup. Nadja Korinšek (AO Trbovlje) placed excellently fourth, Katja Jurjovec (AO Grmada Celje Matica) eighth, both also achieving their best placement. Katja Brunec (AO Kranj), who was sixth in Domžale, narrowly missed the ninth place in the final.



In the men's competition, Miha Habjan (Akademski AO), fourth after qualifications, provided the biggest surprise, climbing smoothly in the final towards the upper part of the route until he ran out of strength. The competitors who followed fell one after another due to mistakes in the lower part of the route, so the newcomer of this season swung onto the podium as third-placed, having to concede superiority only to Slovaks Peter Kuric and Juraj Svingal. "I am really very happy with the placement. After climbing three qualification routes, where I climbed really unburdened and without expectations, the desire for the final awakened in me. The routes were endurance-based and not too technically demanding, which suits my current drytooling knowledge. In the final, I told myself to go full throttle as long as my arms would allow, and that was enough in the end even for third place. Yes, I am surprised and happy," summed up the impressions of the Ljubljana native, known to the Slovenian climbing community as an alpinist, mountain guide and long-time former head of the PZS Alpine Commission, who this year devoted himself somewhat more intensively to climbing and also started participating in drytooling competitions. The final also featured the new selector of the Slovenian team Vili Guček (AS Špaltna), who swung to sixth place, and Jaka Hrast (AO Domžale), leading after qualifications, but a mistake in the final cost him a better placement, as he ended up eighth. Edvin Nepužlan (AO Železničar) finished the Slovak event in 24th place.



The European Cup in ice climbing will conclude the final on March 3 next year in Finland, in between there will be World Cup competitions, where the most successful Slovenian competitors will also compete in the strongest competition.