Bern (Switzerland): Tokyo Olympic champion Janja Garnbret booked her berth to Paris 2024 as she took the women’s boulder & lead World Championships title here.
The championships, which ended on Saturday, served as the first qualification event of sport climbing for the Paris Olympics, where two competitions will crown their own champion. One will be a combined competition of bouldering and lead events, and the other one will only feature a speed event.
In Bern, Slovenian Garnbret built a lead in the boulder round and secured her Olympic return with another solid lead performance, claiming her second gold medal after the women’s boulder last Saturday.
“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,” said Garnbret after the competition.
“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,” she added.
Austria’s Jessica Pilz and Japan’s Ai Mori joined Garnbret on the podium, taking another two tickets to Paris.
The men’s boulder & lead Olympic quota places went to Austria’s Jakob Schubert, Colin Duffy of the United States, and Japanese veteran Narasaki Tomoa, as the three shared the medals.
In the speed events, the current World No.1 climber Long Jinbao secured a berth to Paris for China with a silver medal in the men’s final, where Matteo Zurloni of Italy took his first World Championships title in his first senior season after Long committed a false start.
“I’m so happy to get the ticket. I want to thank my nation for being so supportive. I’m so excited now and will train hard to get a good result in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” said Long before the award ceremony.
Indonesia’s Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi claimed her first world title in a tight final match-up against American Emma Hunt. The duo also received the quota places for women’s speed in Paris.
–IANS
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