Janja Garnbret wins the gold medal at the IFSC World Cup in Jakarta. With five out of seven competitions won in the 2022 season, the Slovenian is also undisputedly at the top of the podium in the overall lead ranking. Japan's Ao Yurikusa wins his first gold in the men's event in Jakarta. The overall World Cup victory goes to the Slovenian Luka Potocar.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, Janja Garnbret from Slovenia, climbed back to the top of the podium in the final competition of the season, winning her fifth overall gold medal of the 2022 lead competition season.
Janja Garnbret with a single top
Garnbret was the only athlete to secure the top hold - shared by the men and women, as was the final portion of the finals route. The German Hannah Meul and the South Korean Chaehyun Seo both had a chance to beat Garnbret as they entered the final round higher placed. However, none of them could reach the top. Seo won silver with 40 holds while Meul missed out on the podium with 34+ and finished fourth.
"I really liked the idea of sharing the last part of the route with the men, I think this is the first time this has happened at a World Cup."
Janja Garnbret
The bronze medal went to another Slovenian Olympian – Mia Krampl – who finished the round at 35+, her best World Cup result of the season.
Laura Rogora from Italy was fifth with 34+, equal on points with the Slovenian Vital Lucan, who finished sixth. The Japanese women Nakagawa-ryu and Tanii Natsuki finished seventh at 29+ and eighth at 19+ respectively.
Significant lead in the overall standings
In the overall ranking of the Lead discipline, Janja Garnbret took first place with 5.805 points. The Slovenian is the first athlete in the history of climbing to have won six titles within the series, one in bouldering and five in lead.
Chaehyun Seo followed in second place with 4.405 points, while Natalia Grossman from the USA finished third with 3.370 points despite not competing in Jakarta.
Japanese athletes with a strong performance
In a men's final partially marred by weather conditions, the Japanese took the lead Ao Yurikusa the first gold medal of his career - after the silver medal he won at the World Cup in Innsbruck this year. The 20-year-old from Saitama slipped halfway through and finished with 29 points.
"I am very, very happy. I can't believe it, I just want to say thank you to my family!"
Ao Yurikusa
«I liked the route but the humidity and rain made it a bit wet. I still did my best and it was enough to win gold," said Yurikusa
Sebastian Halenke wins bronze
The 30 year old Masahiro Higuchi, who also represented Japan and won silver with 28 points, followed his younger teammate and placed ahead of the German Sebastian Halenke, who also reached 28 points, but due to a poorer placement in the semi-final round, finished third and won bronze.
Two other Japanese climbers narrowly missed the podium: Hidemasa Nishida finished fourth at 27+, same score as Satone Yoshida, who finished fifth. Dohyun Lee of South Korea, making their finals for the first time, finished sixth, also at 27+, ending the series with his best result to date.
Luca Potocar from Slovenia was seventh at 25+, and the first-time World Cup competitor Raviandi Ramadan finished his international debut with a fantastic eighth place finish, scoring 22+ and earning the greatest applause from the crowd.
Narrow overall World Cup victory for Potocar
With his seventh place, Potocar also secured the men's Lead World Cup 2022, overtaking the Japanese Homma Taisei, who finished 12th in Jakarta. Potocar completed the series with 3.860 points, followed by Homma with 3.835 points. Third place Jesse Grouper from the USA with 3.812 points.
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Credits: Cover Photo Lena Drapella/IFSC