Janja Garnbret Is Going to the 2024 Olympics!

She stood atop yesterday's World Championship podium with Jessica Pilz and Ai Mori, all three earning medals and Olympic tickets

Photo by: Jan Virt/IFSC

Aaron Pardy August 12, 2023

At yesterday’s IFSC World Championship Boulder & Lead combined women’s final in Bern, Switzerland, Janja Garnbret continued her winning ways, earning both a gold medal and a spot in the 2024 Olympics. With exceptional performances in both the boulder and lead rounds of the event, the Tokyo Olympics champion will get a chance to defend her Olympic title next summer in Paris.

In the Boulder & Lead event – often referred to as “Combined” – athletes compete in both bouldering and lead climbing on the same day, earning points in each discipline that are summed together to reach a final score. The climbers first climbed four boulder problems, each worth up to 25 points. They then climbed a lead route worth up to 100 points. The top three athletes of the event would not only win a World Championship medal but also a qualifying spot in the Olympics.

Garnbret dominated the bouldering round. She was the only athlete to top the first three problems. She flashed the dynamic problem 1, topped in her second go on the slabby problem 2, and flashed the wildly physical problem 3, which no other competitor topped. On problem 4, she reached the high zone, leaving her with 84.9 points in the bouldering round. Brooke Raboutou and Jessica Pilz followed behind in second and third after both topping problems 1 and 2 and reaching the high zone on problems 3 and 4. They went into the lead round essentially tied, Raboutou with 69.8 points and Pilz with 69.

Garnbret on problem 2. Photo by Jan Virt/IFSC.

In the lead climbing round, Pilz put up an impressive score of 88.1 points early in the evening, securing her a spot on the podium and a ticket to the Olympics. Raboutou earned a considerably lower 68 points on the lead wall, leaving her in second place. Japan’s Ai Mori, who only scored 44.5 points in the bouldering round, needed a very successful lead climb if she was going to reach the podium. She climbed flawlessly, falling one hold from the very top, earning 96.1 points. This left Raboutou precariously in third with Garnbret still left to climb. Not a good place to be in.

Unsurprisingly, Garnbret crushed the route, easily reaching the hold she needed to reach in order to secure her gold medal victory. She continued climbing and fell two holds from the top, earning 92.1 points. The audience and viewers of the livestream could see the joy in her face as she lowered back to the ground. After years of first-place finishes, that gold medal feeling has not gotten old for Garnbret.

Garnbret lowering from her gold medal-winning climb. Photo by Jan Virt/IFSC.

“I feel incredible and relieved at the same time,” said Garnbret after her win. “It feels so amazing today. I felt so composed today actually. I was climbing the lead route flawlessly and I am just incredibly happy right now that I have qualified. Even though I have qualified once before, you don’t get tired of this feeling of qualifying for an Olympics. So, my second Olympics – here we go.”

Pilz was equally stoked about her Olympic ticket. “I knew my boulder round was kind of good but it was all still open until the end,” she said after the lead round. “I knew I had to give my all for the lead route and do my best. I wasn’t sure when I fell if it would be enough, but then my coaches signalled to me that it was, but I couldn’t really believe it and I really wanted to wait until the end until it was safe. It still feels surreal.”