Janja Garnbret reported back to the competition in Innsbruck and secured the 33rd gold medal of her World Cup career with her victory. Colin Duffy wrote climbing history: The American was the first athlete to win both the Bouldering and the Lead World Cup at the same event.
Competition high flyer Janja Garnbret had the bouldering season apart from World Cup start in Meiringen skipped to fully focus on lead training. A strategy that seemed to work: In Innsbruck, the Olympic champion returned to the competition circuit and immediately climbed to the top of the podium in the women's lead final.
33. Gold for Janja Garnbret
With a score of 39+, Garnbret secured the 33rd World Cup gold medal of her illustrious career to date. Victory at the IFSC World Cup ins Innsbruck is the 19th World Cup gold that the Slovenian has won alone in the lead.
"It was a good decision to skip the bouldering competitions so I could come back refreshed and with a fresh spirit."
Janja Garnbret
«It's nice to be back. It was a good decision to skip the bouldering competitions so I could come back refreshed and with a fresh spirit. I won't lie, I was nervous because I haven't competed in so long, but I've enjoyed the whole weekend and it just feels good to be back," Garnbret said after adding another to her collection Added gold medal.
Silver for Chaehyun Seo, bronze for Brooke Raboutou
The Olympian and reigning Lead World Champion Chaehyun Seo of South Korea scored 27+ in the first lead final of the season to take the silver medal. Seo, who made her World Cup debut in 2019, has been on the podium a total of eight times, with tonight marking her ninth World Cup medal win.
The Olympian completed the women's race Brooke Raboutou from the USA took the podium in third place. The American also finished with a score of 27+ but finished third for taking more time than the Korean. Winning the bronze medal is Raboutou's eighth World Cup medal to date.
The Italian Olympian Laura Rogora also finished fourth at 27+. The Japanese Natsuki Tanii finished fifth at 25+. Boulder overall World Cup winner Natalia Grossman finished sixth with 22 points. The Slovenian Vital Lucan was seventh with 16 points, while the Austrian Olympian Jessica mushroom finished eighth at 8+ after a disappointing early slip.
Colin Duffy writes climbing history with a double victory
Fresh off the podium at the Bouldering World Cup in Innsbruck earlier this week, the American Olympian wrote Colin Duffy on Sunday night sport climbing history by becoming the first male athlete to win the Boulder and Lead categories at the same IFSC competition.
"Before the competition I wasn't sure how bouldering would go, and at the start of the lead season you never know how fit the others are."
Colin Duffy
Up to this evening, only one female athlete had managed to do this – Janja Garnbret at the World Cup in Innsbruck last year. This is already the third World Cup medal for Colin Duffy and the second this week.
“Before the competition I wasn't sure how bouldering would go and at the start of the lead season you never know how fit the others are, but I was happy to start here in Innsbruck. I love this venue and things have just been magical for me here," said Duffy after his win.
"It takes a lot of mental effort to endure so many rounds of tough competition, but as soon as I took the stage for the lead final, I was back in my element."
Colin Duffy
When asked if he felt the effects of bouldering in today's final, he added: "I was pretty tired, both physically and mentally. It takes a lot of mental effort to endure so many rounds of tough competition, but as soon as I took the stage for the lead finals, I was back in my element. I was just happy to be able to climb. I knew the one-two was possible, but at the end of the day I just wanted to fulfill my potential."
Nine athletes in the final
The Japanese Ao Yurikusa finished the competition in second place with a score of 37+. In his second ever World Cup final, Yurikusa clinched the first World Cup medal of his career.
Also on the podium for the first time Jesse Grouper from the USA, who finished the finals with the same score as Yurikusa. However, as he needed more time than the Japanese, Grupper ended up in third place.
The Slovenian was fourth Luca Potocar with 37 points. The Austrian Olympian Jakob Schubert and the Japanese Satone Yoshida finished fifth and sixth with the same score of 36+. Time was again decisive for the final result of Schubert and Yoshida.
The German Yannick Flohe finished seventh with 31 points, the German Olympian Alexander Megos. with 28+ eighth place and the Japanese Taisei Homma ninth place with 21+. In the men's final, nine instead of eight athletes competed, since there was a tie on points in both the qualification and the semifinals.
That might interest you
- Janja Garnbret wins – Andrea Kümin comfortably third | Boulder World Cup Meiringen
- Why is Janja Garnbret the strongest competitive climber in the world?
- Bouldering World Cup Brixen: Yannick Flohé takes gold, Hannah Meul silver
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Credits: Cover picture Jan Virt / IFSC