Janja Garnbret Skipping Half of World Cups Before Olympics
She's decided to not compete in Salt Lake City, Chamonix, or Briançon. Other top climbers are sitting out of events as well.
Photo by: Nakajima Kazushige/IFSC
The IFSC World Cup series in 2024 is going to be a little strange. With athletes focused on training and preparing for the upcoming Olympic Qualifier Series and Paris Olympics, the World Cup appears to be of diminished importance this year. It’s a tough choice for top climbers. Participating in a World Cup event means potentially earning a podium spot and collecting points towards Overall World Cup Champion standings, but it also means time away from Olympic training, incorrect peaking times, and an increased risk of injury.
There are six World Cups this season before the Olympics: Keqiao, Wujiang, Salt Lake City, Innsbruck, Chamonix, and Briançon. The Olympic Qualifier Series is being held between the Salt Lake City and Innsbruck events. After the Olympics, there will be three more World Cups: Koper, Prague, and Seoul.
Janja Garnbret, comp climbing’s biggest star, recently said that she’ll be sitting out of three of the six World Cups before the Olympics. “Me and my coach, Roman, have chosen a few competitions to do this year,” said Garnbret yesterday to the IFSC after placing first in the Boulder qualifying round at the Keqiao World Cup. “I will do both of the China World Cups, so [Keqiao] and Wujiang, and then Innsbruck, and that will be all before the Olympics. You still need to get into the competition mood but you also need to rest and train in between. I did something similar for [the Tokyo Olympics] and it worked out well then, so hopefully it will again.”
Canadian Sean McColl also recently announced he’s had to make some tough choices. “As the first World Cup of the season is upon us, I will not be on the start list,” said McColl via Instagram. “It is a hard decision, but I feel like putting my head down and committing to a final block of training is a better use of time ahead of the Olympic Qualifier Series. I’ll miss the World Cups, but I’ll be watching.”
For one reason or another, many other top-tier climbers are missing the China World Cup events, including Adam Ondra, Jesse Grupper, Alex Megos, Mejdi Schalck, Natalia Grossman, Brooke Raboutou, and Oriane Bertone, among others.
List of major comp climbing events in 2024
- World Cup (Boulder), Keqiao, China, April 8–10
- World Cup (Lead, Speed), Wujiang, China, April 11–14
- World Cup (Boulder, Speed), Salt Lake City, USA May 3–5
- Olympic Qualifier Series (Boulder & Lead; Speed), Shanghai, China May 16–19
- Olympic Qualifier Series (Boulder & Lead; Speed), Budapest, Hungary, June 20–23
- World Cup (Boulder, Lead), Innsbruck, Austria June 25–30
- World Cup (Lead, Speed), Chamonix, France, July 11–14
- World Cup (Lead, Speed), Briançon, France, July 16–19
- Paris Olympics (Boulder & Lead; Speed) July 25–Aug 11
- World Cup (Lead), Koper, Slovenia, September 5–7
- World Cup (Boulder), Prague, Czechia September 19–22
- World Cup (All Disciplines), Seoul, South Korea, October 2–6
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