Jessica Pilz and Janja Garnbret were out first and it was a tense super-final which swung one way then the other, with both climbers coming close to reaching the buzzer, only to fall at the last move. With 90 seconds left on the clock, both climbers were on the crash mats, tired from their previous efforts but beaming broad smiles as the audience roared them on. Time ran out with both athletes on the wall but someone had to win so they climbed on! Finally, Janja reached up for the crucial top hold and as soon as she touched it, the win was a formality. She flopped onto the top of the wall, took a second to compose herself and pressed the buzzer to claim the adidas ROCKSTARS title, a week after taking the World Championship lead final. She is just 17 years old and her trophy cabinet is already rammed full.
Janja Garnbret, having claimed the women’s title, was exhausted after a frantic week and was more than happy to be interviewed provided she could slump on one of the couches in the athlete lounge when she spoke to us! Installed on her couch, she commented, “I just came here to enjoy, to have fun…so to get another win is unbelievable. I was super happy (on top of the superfinal boulder) but at the same time so exhausted so I turned to the public, pushed the button, the whole audience stood up and I was just so happy.”