Home Crowd Advantage for Janja Garnbret at this Weekend’s Lead World Cup

After a break for the World Championships in Bern, the Lead World Cup makes its second to last stop of the season in Koper, Slovenia this weekend. The Lead qualifiers and semi-finals will be held on Friday September 8. The finals will be held the following day, Saturday September 9.

Slovenian Janja Garnbret will get the chance the perform in front a home crowd in Koper. She already has two Lead World Cup wins this season from Innsbruck and Villars. She dominated the World Championships in August, winning gold in Boulder, silver in Lead, and gold in the new Olympic combined format.

Some other big names in European climbing registered to compete in Koper include Jessica Pilz, Mickael Mawem, Oriane Bertone, Toby Roberts, Alex Megos, Hannah Meul, Stefano Ghisolfi, Laura Rogora, Mia Krampl, and Vita Lukan. Japan and South Korea are also sending some of their star athletes including Sorato Anraku, Ai Mori, Chaehyun Seo, and Jain Kim.

Many of Canada and the United States’ top talent will be competing in Koper. See below for the full list of Canadian and American athletes registered to compete:

Women

• Alannah Yip (CAN)
• Kylie Cullen (USA)
• Kerry Scott (USA)
• Brooke Raboutou (USA)
• Natalia Grossman (USA)
• Helen Gillett (USA)
• Kyra Condie (USA)

Men

• Sean McColl (CAN)
• Jesse Grupper (USA)
• Colin Duffy (USA)
• Sean Bailey (USA)
• Hugo Hoyer (USA)
• Dillon Countryman (USA)

Going into this event, Jessica Pilz is currently leading the women’s rankings, with Jain Kim in second and Janja Garnbret in third. In men’s, Sorato Anraku holds the top spot. Alex Megos is in second and Toby Roberts third.

Livestream Schedule

The lead semi-finals and finals will be livestreamed on the IFSC’s Youtube Channel. The livestream schedule is listed below:

• Men’s & Women’s Lead Semi-Finals – Friday September 8 – 2pm ET (11am PT)
• Men’s Lead Finals – Saturday September 9 – 2pm ET (11am PT)
• Women’s Lead Finals – Saturday September 9 – 3pm ET (12pm PT)