Janja Garnbret is the greatest competition climber of all time. For eight years, since the age of 17, she has dominated opponents with a level of ruthlessness that should put her in the same category as Simone Biles. Having navigated the near-crippling pressure to win gold in Tokyo on climbing’s debut at the Olympics, she returned here, heavily favoured to repeat.
In the final round of the bouldering section, though, it seemed as if things could be falling apart. Garnbret completed the first three bouldering problems without issue, pushing her towards first place, but as she was attempting to scale the final boulder she caught her finger between two holds and felt a sharp pain. She was seething as she left the stage and tearful behind the scenes.
The Slovenian returned nearly two hours later for the lead event, where the athletes have to climb as high as possible up a towering, steep wall with incredibly difficult and varied holds.
As the final competitor, in front of a full, booming crowd chanting her name, Garnbret gave a demonstration of the supreme mental strength that accompanies her unprecedented technical abilities by outperforming Brooke Raboutou, of the United States, to seal her second Olympic gold.
“I was scared I fractured something, but I didn’t care if I’m missing a hand or a finger, I will go out there and climb the lead route and just enjoy,” Garnbret said. “I just kept telling myself: ‘Just like in training, do it like in training, and everything will be all right.’ And I pulled it off.”
It was a thrilling end to a brilliant final day of climbing, which has continued to establish itself as an excellent addition to the Games. Rock climbing is, after all, a basic concept – either you climb high or you fall. While the specifics of the scoring system are complicated, the struggles of certain competitors provide context for how difficult certain holds and routes are. The sight of the exceptional climbers on each event outstripping their opponents and breaking new ground is tense and thrilling.
While Garnbret, even with her physical difficulties, continued to thrive, the most eye-catching performance came from Ai Mori, a prodigious 20-year-old lead specialist from Japan. She had struggled in the bouldering round before producing a scene-stealing effort on the lead wall, placing one hand on the very top hold before falling, her efforts eliciting a loud standing ovation. She finished in fourth place.
With the sport set in the schedule, and the emotions from Garnbret, Raboutou and the Austrian bronze medallist, Jessica Pilz, underlined how quickly the Olympics have become such a meaningful occasion for the sport, the question is whether climbing will be allowed to showcase its full array of competitions. In Tokyo, the sport had one event for men and women.
It was decided then that in Japan they would combine all three types of climbing into one championship – speed, bouldering and lead – even though the traditional forms of climbing, boulder and lead, are completely distinct from speed climbing, which lead and boulder climbers rarely even practice. It is a reflection of Garnbret’s genius that she was able to win gold in that completely unfamiliar format.
In Paris, climbing had two medals – speed and combined (boulder and lead). The consensus among the climbers on Saturday was that they would like the sport to have separate medals for boulder, lead, combined and speed climbing in Los Angeles 2028.
Regardless of the rules, the legend of Garnbret continues to grow. She now boasts two Olympic golds in addition to her eight world championship titles, two silver medals and 45 golds at World Cup events. While most climbers tend to have their own speciality, she thrives on the boulder and lead, whether under suffocating pressure in Tokyo or physically compromised in Paris.
“Nobody else in any other sport has someone like her who’s that consistent,” said Britain’s Erin McNeice, who finished in fifth place. “She’s got so many medals and she’s only 25. It’s ridiculous and the more you look into it, the more it’s unbelievable how successful she is. It’s inspiring to be on the same stage as her.”
Unlike many of her other victories, this one was not easy. As she relishes an incredible achievement, it will also provide further motivation to maintain her edge as the target on her back only gets bigger.
“In the past, I showed what’s possible and how strong can you can get,” Garnbret said. “Girls want to beat me and they’re training hard. But I’m also training hard, so I’m just always trying to be two steps ahead of them. And today was enough.”
