In a highly charged atmosphere, the Slovenian Janja Garnbret became the first Olympic climbing champion in history on Friday, completing her grip on the discipline at the Tokyo Olympics.
At 22, the big favorite took over the Japanese Miho Nonaka and Akiyo Noguchi, raising with every gesture the cheers of the delegations and volunteers captivated by this Olympic first.
“
It’s amazing.
I'm so happy that I can't even describe it
”, confided in the mixed zone the Slovenian, who had“
written on Instagram at least six years ago: See you in Tokyo
”.
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The full Olympic program
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The French Anouck Jaubert, she finished sixth: double winner of the World Cup in speed, she could not resist in this test to the Polish Aleksandra Miroslaw, who smashed the world record (6''84). “
It was a great adventure
“, Confided the 27-year-old Stéphanoise, who will hang up the shoes at the end of the season, and remained divided between her disappointment in speed and the feeling of having given everything in block (6th) then in difficulty (7th).
Pink hair and a big smile, Janja Garnbret was able to withstand the pressure weighing on her shoulders as a six-time world champion in difficulty (2016 and 2019), bouldering (2018 and 2019) and combined (2018 and 2019).
Only Jaubert dominated her during the final, the time of a speed duel, before the evening turned to the demonstration of the Slovenian in the other two events.
Two events in Paris
"
It's necessarily hyper-impressive, it's been years that it dominates and it's beautiful to have responded
", greeted the French. In bouldering in particular, Professor Garnbret delivered a masterful lesson: mixing power and finesse, she was the only one to solve the first two puzzles, which were designed to reward different styles of climbing. "
I wanted a difficult bouldering track to show who was the best,
" said the Slovenian, explaining that she imagined herself "
in training
" so as not to tense up. She nevertheless stumbled on the third boulder, falling violently on her back, a shock that could have weighed on the time of attacking the difficulty, that is to say the ascent of a wall 15 meters high without the right to thefault.
Blunt, catching her breath after each strong step, the one who also has many achievements on the cliff has reached higher than anyone, finishing knocking out the competition before letting tears flow on the podium. Built under duress, since climbing had only one podium per gender for its Olympic baptism, the
Tokyo
"
combined
" brought together three events so different that no competitor practiced them together at a very high level. This is the last time that this cocktail is offered during a major tournament: climbing will have two events during the 2024 Paris Olympics, speed on the one hand and bouldering / combined on the other, and Garnbret will not will only be 25 years old.
