Euphoria in Singapore: Janja Garnbret’s fans line up for her autograph #video

Janja Garnbret is a fan magnet in Asia. In the photo: a guest at one of the events in Singapore.
Photo: Boulder+

They have been inviting her to visit for several years

“I was told that I have a big fan base in Singapore and have been inviting me to visit for several years. I was positively shocked at the amount of recognition I was able to experience in Asia. Even the day before qualifying at the Jakarta match, kids were coming to the venue for selfies and autographs,” announced the climbing number 1 in a press release, who, despite having already climbed the last competitive route of the season, will not be in Slovenia that soon.

Photo: Screen capture

After the Olympic triumph, back to Tokyo

“After Singapore, I will continue my journey to Japan. I am really looking forward to being in Tokyo for the first time after the Olympic Games. I will not compete in the final event in Morioka (the Olympic combined event will be held between 20 and 22 October, op. a .), I will have some time to relax and do what I want, including some relaxation by the ocean. I look forward to returning home at the end of October with a fresh mind.”

An outstanding 2022 season

After another successful season, the break will be more than deserved and needed. Garnbret ended the season without a World Championship or Olympic Games with three European Championship titles (in bouldering, difficulty and Olympic combination) and an overall victory in the overall difficulty climbing (for the fifth time), which is already her tenth overall victory in the World Cup.

At just 23 years old.

“It’s hard to grasp everything that has happened since 2016, when I won my first overall title. It’s been a crazy ride! It’s extraordinary for Slovenia to have an overall winner among men. I’m very happy for Luka (Potočarja, op. a.), he has developed a lot as a competitor and the success he achieved this season is well-deserved,” she praised her national team colleague, who at the very last match in Jakarta took the overall lead in the difficulty score.

Slovenian dominance in difficulty climbing: Luka Potočar and Janja Garnbret, winners in the overall difficulty
Photo: Lena Drapella/IFSC

Ending the season with a win is great, but the way is even more important

Korošica ended the 2022 season, in which she competed only on one bouldering course and won, she also competed on all the difficult ones (she won not only in Koper and Edinburgh), but in the most beautiful way possible, with a victory.

“To end the season with a win is of course great, but the way things went made this win even more special. A mistake in the semi-final put me in 3rd place in the final. It meant I had to climb better than everyone else so that I could win. This added spice to everything, but I’m happy that I coped with it and remained calm even at the end for the last jump to the top,” said Garnbretova, who is in the final of the last match in Jakarta the only one to reach the top of the course.

Even in the men’s competition. The last part of the final course was the same for the women’s and men’s competition.

In the final of the last match of the World Cup in difficulty in Jakarta, she was the only one to reach the top of the course in both competitions.
Photo: Lena Drapella/IFSC

“It’s known that I prefer really difficult routes to routes where more than one climber reaches the top. But it’s not about what my taste is and what’s not. The level of women’s climbing has risen over the years to what it is today, and that they show such directions. If it allows climbing the same route as men, I agree with that.”

In the top since 2016

Garnbretova has been at the top of sport climbing since 2016, so the nickname GOAT (Greatest Of All Times) is now almost in place. “It is difficult to win just one competition, but it goes without saying that it is even more difficult to stay at the top for a long time. We know the saying – it is always easier to attack than to defend. I have been in the role of defending champion for some time now and I am proud to be able to I’m always improving.”

The first Olympic champion in the history of sport climbing
Photo: Anže Malovrh/STA

Fun, fun and more fun

And what keeps her on top? “It’s one thing to win, it’s another to enjoy the process that leads you to the goal. For me, one cannot go without the other, and despite all the years of competing in the World Cup, I still have a lot of fun, which has always been my key to success,” he says. owner of 37 World Cup victories, six World Champion titles and the first and so far only Olympic title in the history of sport climbing.

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Sportsman

A dream finish in Jakarta: Janja and Luka together at the top