Sport Climbing World Cup 2023 Innsbruck: Janja Garnbret wins double gold
Olympic champion Janja Garnbret won the lead gold medal on Sunday (18 June) adding to the boulder title she clinched three days earlier. Switzerland's Sascha Lehmann won the men's lead competition.
Sport Climbing
Olympic champion Janja Garnbret flaunted her brilliance at the IFSC Sport Climbing World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria on Sunday (18 June), winning double gold in lead and boulder.
Garnbret opened the lead season with the victory on Sunday, adding to the gold medal she won in the final boulder competition on Thursday. In the men’s competition, Swiss climber Sascha Lehmann walked away with the lead title – his first since 2019.
Slovenian superstar Garnbret celebrated her return to competitive climbing in style after an injury-forced hiatus. Garnbret sat out most of the boulder season due to a toe injury and won silver on her return last week in Prague.
She followed that up with double gold in Austria, winning the lead competition with 39+, with Ai Mori of Japan bagging silver with 33+. Local favourite Jessica Pilz rounded out the podium with 25+.
The 24-year-old Garnbret now boasts 15 boulder World Cup victories and 24 in the lead discipline.
“I left it all on the wall, and when I fell, I was just happy with how I climbed, and I am just incredibly grateful,” Garnbret said.
“It was my first injury, and I didn’t really know how to deal with it. In the past months, there were a lot of doubts, a lot of crying, and a lot of negative thoughts. Coming back stronger than ever and winning two gold medals is just incredible.”
The men’s competition was a closer affair, with Lehmann winning on countback with 44+, edging Alexander Megos of Germany into second place. Austria celebrated another bronze medal as Jakob Schubert (42+) claimed the third step on the podium.
“It was a huge fight, and I am just happy I made it up there. I worked hard for this season to make it onto the podium again,” Lehmann said.