Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Sport Climbing – Women’s Combined – Qualification – Aomi Urban Sports Park – Tokyo, Japan – August 4, 2021. Janja Garnbret of Slovenia in action during the Bouldering Qualification Pool via REUTERS/Mohd Rasfan
TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Slovenian medal favourite Janja Garnbret advanced to the final of the women’s Olympic climbing competition in first place, as Britain’s Shauna Coxsey bade farewell to professional climbing after being eliminated in Wednesday’s qualifier.
In Friday’s final, eight women will contend for a single gold medal, climbing’s first, in three events – speed, a vertical sprint; bouldering, which tests problem-solving skills on low walls; and lead, a technical climb against the clock.
Garnbret, widely seen as a gold medal contender, was 14th in the opening speed event, her weakest discipline, but crushed her rivals in the bouldering contest before coming in fourth in the lead section to head the overall standings.
The youngest contender, 17-year-old South Korean Seo Chaehyun, came in second, surpassing the rest of the field to grip the 40th hold in the lead event, by far the highest climb of the night.
Her performance comes after U.S. teen Colin Duffy – just a month Seo’s junior – came in third in the men’s qualifier on Tuesday, in a strong display of up-and-coming talent in the sport. read more
Japanese medal hopes Miho Nonaka and Akiyo Noguchi put on solid performances to finish third and fourth respectively, with the latter particularly impressive in the bouldering contest.
Polish speed specialist Aleksandra Miroslaw, who came within a hair’s breadth of matching the world record of 6.96 seconds in the opener, struggled during the bouldering section and placed second-to-last in lead, to finish seventh overall.
U.S. climber Brooke Raboutou, Frenchwoman Anouck Jaubert and Jessica Pilz of Austria also qualified.
Britain’s Coxsey, however, bowed out, placing 10th in her final appearance after more than a decade in competitive climbing.
The start of women’s competition follows a day of breakthrough and reversal for France’s two Mawem brothers in the men’s event: the pair secured places in the final before the elder sibling, Bassa, was forced to drop out due to injury. read more
Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell, Hugh Lawson and Ed Osmond
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