Sports Bulletin Report
Innsbruck (Austria):- Slovenia’s lady Janja Garnbret lifted gold to do the Boulder and Lead double in Kletterzentrum Innsbruck, Austria in the FISC World Climbing Series. Six nations represented in eight climber women’s Lead final; two Slovenian, two USA, one Japanese, one South Korean, one French and one Austrian.
Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret took gold to do the Boulder and Lead double in Innsbruck, who repeated the feat of 2021 when she also won Boulder and Lead gold at the IFSC World Cup Innsbruck. Mori Ai from Japan settled with silver medal. Home crowd pleased as Austrian Jessica Pilz won bronze, first World Cup medal since taking Lead silver in Kranj, Slovenia in 2019.
Meanwhile, in the men’s competitions, 9 men contested Lead final due to a tie for eighth in semi-finals. Six nations represented with four climbers from Japan, one from Germany, one from Spain, one from Switzerland, one from France and one from Austria. Sascha Lehmann from Switzerland got gold by reaching hold 44+ while Both Lehmann and Germany’s Alexander Megos reach hold 44+ with semifinal result separating the two rivals.
Janja Garnbret (SLO) - women's Lead gold medallist
"I loved the route. It was incredible. Even during the observation I knew it was hard, but this is what we like. We like to show how we fight and what we train for, so this is exactly what we got and I enjoyed every minute of it.
"I’m incredibly grateful to win both the Boulder and Lead, even more grateful because I’m coming back from injury. I’ve never had an injury before so I had no experience or expectations and it’s even more amazing coming back because there were a lot of doubts, crying and just a lot of negative thoughts, so coming back on top I’m incredibly grateful."
Jessica Pilz (AUT) - women's Lead bronze medallist
"It was super nice to climb at home here. The crowd was amazing. I wasn’t too happy with my climbing, it was tough to stick the move and I wasn’t satisfied when I fell. I thought for sure the others would beat me, so it was a nice surprise for sure to be back on the podium, it’s definitely been a while.
"It’s great to be on the podium at home, it definitely means more than anywhere else. It feels really good."
Sascha Lehmann (SUI) - men's Lead gold medallist
"I knew I could climb well and I am a strong climber, but it’s a packed field, we saw that in Boulder with so many young athletes coming in. My Boulder season didn’t go that well so I hoped I could do better in Lead. I worked hard at Lead, but I wasn’t sure where I was at. I know I can perform on the big stage, and I did, so it feels amazing.
"You always do a move and think it feels good in the warm-up, and the atmosphere here is great, but in the end when you go out to the route it’s not thinking anymore, it’s just climbing. Do your thing, stay calm, do the moves and perform well."
Alexander Megos (GER) - men's Lead silver medallist
"I knew I climbed well, but I didn't expected to be on the podium tonight. I think what was remarkable in this competition is that between the first and ninth climber there were only four moves, and nobody made a big mistake. In my mind, if I win a medal it's because I climbed better than the others, not because somebody else made a mistake, so I'm happy to cheer for all the other climbers once I'm done.
"The next generation is coming, and it's coming fast. Sorato is 16 and he did three rounds in Boulder, then three rounds in Lead, and he doesn't seem to be tired at all. His climbing style is crazy, I'm sure he will win many more medals in the future."
Jakob Schubert (AUT) - men's Lead bronze medallist
"Obviously it feels amazing having a podium, and having it here in Innsbruck. It's a great start for the Lead season, but also for myself. This one's always a very special World Cup, there is more pressure for sure, more nervousness than any other event, but it's also way more rewarding.
"Experience can still play an important role, especially in Lead, and I believe we, the old guys, can still compete with the young guns."
