Janja Garnbret and Toby Roberts take Gold in Koper
- Sunday 8th September 2024
Olympic Champions, Janja Garnbret and Toby Roberts, win Gold again in the Koper World Cup, Slovenia.
Returning to the World Cup Lead circuit for the fifth event of the 2024 season, the Olympic Champions once again demonstrated their credentials.
Janja Garnbret was dominant throughout the competition with two tops in the qualification round and the only top in the semi’s. Climbing last, Janja Garnbret looked pretty casual climbing past the high point set by Jessica Pilz and so high onto the headwall. As she approached the finish excitement in the massive crowd grew to a fever-pitch; as is often the case, the final move was a massive dyno – sadly however, Garnbret had a momentary loss of concentration which resulted in a foot slip robbing her the opportunity to try the dyno. Both Garnbret and the crowd were equally disappointed but delighted with the overall result – another commanding victory for Garnbret in front of her home crowd.
Joining Garnbret on the podium was Jessica Pilz and Annie Sanders. Team GB athlete Erin McNeice, also climbed in the final and finished in sixth place; another excellent result for McNeice who finished the Olympics in fifth.
Talking to lead IFSC commentator Matt Groom after the competition, Garnbret summed up her win saying: “Then, it was just a millisecond of not being focussed and that’s why I slipped. I was looking forward to the last jump, but oh well, I have something to show next time.
Recognising the support from the crowd Garnbret said: “The crowd is absolutely phenomenal. Honestly, a few years ago when the World Cup was in Kranj I know I had a hard time performing there because of the cheering and maybe the extra pressure to perform in front of the home crowd, but I’ve gotten used to it and now I love climbing in front of the home crowd with all the kids screaming and cheering. I absolutely enjoyed myself on the wall today.”
As on many occasions recently, the men’s competition was dominated by Toby Roberts, the newly crowded Olympic Champion, and the even-younger, Olympic Silver medallist, Sorato Anraku. Although Anraku top the standings after both the qualification and semi-finals, Roberts was right behind him in second place. Climbing second to last in the final, Roberts continued for another eight moves beyond the high point set by Sam Avezou before finally succumbing to the difficulties high on the headwall. Anraku looked to be cruising towards Roberts’ highpoint until what appeared to be a hand slip which cost him to opportunity to challenge Roberts’ high point.
Toby Roberts’ Koper win – his third Gold Lead medal and his fourth overall adding his Boulder win in 2023 – means that he as now equalled Simon Nadin’s record of fourth Gold medals which has stood since 1990! With ever successive win Roberts’ is looking more and more assured as a champion. Sorato Anraku collected another Silver medal and Sam Avezou a Bronze.
Talking about the final route afterwards Roberts said: “The route was really, really tricky. I was a bit nervous especially at the start as there were a few sketchy moves. The start, and the press move I wasn’t really sure about.
“But my whole goal of the competition was to enjoy it and that was the perfect finish. I gave it my maximum fight on that route, I couldn’t have had any more moves even if I wanted to so I’m really happy I got the most out of myself.”
Click here to see the full results for all rounds for both the women and the men rounds at Koper.
