Janja Garnbret Wins Her 25th Lead World Cup Gold
The event in Villars saw many familiar faces on the men's and women's podiums
Photo by: Lena Drapella/IFSC
Over the weekend, the second IFSC Lead World Cup of the 2023 season was held in Villars, Switzerland. After close competition in both the women’s and men’s fields, Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret and Austria’s Jakob Schubert earned gold. Garnbret is no stranger to Villars gold – she has placed first in all seven Villars lead comps over the years. This win marks her 25th Lead World Cup gold, and 40th gold medal overall when you include her wins in bouldering.
Going into Saturday’s lead final, Schubert was tied with his friend and long-time competitor Adam Ondra in holding the most-ever men’s World Cup golds. Over the years, both had earned 22 first-place finishes across boulder and lead World Cups. With his win in Villars, Schubert moves ahead of Ondra by one – he now has 20 golds in lead and 3 in boulder. He also won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
In women’s, Garnbret was the only athlete to top the finals route. The route included a wild spin move similar to the one we saw in the men’s boulder final in Innsbruck a couple weeks ago. Some athletes read the spin correctly, while others broke the beta and climbed the rightward traverse with their back to the crowd – although this did look more strenuous.
Austria’s Jessica Pilz placed second after trying to establish on the 44th hold, very close to the top. Brooke Raboutou, who took third, would have placed second if it wasn’t for the six-minute time limit. After resting a bit too long on the complex, technical route, the clock ran out on the American causing her to switch it into high gear for her last few moves. After the clock hit zero she continued a couple more moves and fell reaching for the Top hold.
“It feels incredible,” said Garnbret after her win. “I’ve always loved Villars. I’ve always loved coming here and I feel a bit like it’s my competition and it’s home here. After Innsbruck, I felt confident and I can see my lead shape is there. I have been climbing with confidence and that’s how I have climbed in the finals here.”
In men’s, it was a story of young vs. old and this time, the veteran competitors came out on top. Thirty-year-old Ondra earned second, falling one hold below the 32-year-old Schubert. Alex Megos, 29, earned third, falling one hold behind Ondra. The three commented on how it must have been one of the oldest men’s podiums ever. The three beat many of the sport’s rising stars in the Villars finals, including Toby Roberts (18), Colin Duffy (19), and Sorato Anraku (16), who placed fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively.
“It feels so amazing, it’s been a while especially in the World Cup,” said Schubert about his Villars win. “I spoke to Adam [Ondra] and Alex [Megos] in Innsbruck, the field is so strong now it’s an achievement just to make finals. Going against these old guys, and the youngsters, it was amazing to come out on top today. It also feels amazing to be on the podium with two great friends. We were discussing if this is the oldest podium. The old guys dominated today.”
Men’s Results
- Jakob Schubert (42+) [AUT]
- Adam Ondra (41+) [CZE]
- Alex Megos (40) [GER]
- Toby Roberts (39+) [GBR]
- Colin Duffy (37+) [USA]
- Sorato Anraku (36+) [JPN]
- Yufei Pan (34) [CHN]
- Shion Omata (24+) [JPN]
Women’s Results
- Janja Garnbret (TOP) [SLO]
- Jessica Pilz (43+) [AUT]
- Brooke Raboutou (43) [USA]
- Chaehyun Seo (43) [KOR]
- Mia Krampl (40+) [SLO]
- Natsuki Tanii (36) [JPN]
- Jain Kim (22+) [KOR]
- Mattea Potzi (17+) [AUT]
2023 Villars Lead World Cup Finals Livestream Replay
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