The reigning World and European Champion, Jule Wurm was there.
The double World and European Champion, Anna Stöhr was there.
The #2 ranked in the World, Shauna Coxsey was there.
The winner of the Sisu Masters, Mélissa Le Nevé was there.
And then there was 16 year old Janja.
Sure, she had won every single competition, including World Championships, in her age category for the last two years, and sure, she has taken two silvers and one bronze in the three senior World Cups she has entered. But that was Lead.
On paper, realistically, this wouldn't be her competition. However...
Already during the work session two days prior to the competition, it became apparent who was the one to beat. Or didn't the other, more experienced climbers, give their all? Would Janja, who tried the problems non-stop for three hours straight be too tired on competition day?
These problems were hard. My guestimate would be somewhere between 7C/+ and 8A/+. Considerably harder than in any other competiton.
Then, two days later, came the day, or rather night, of the competition. The questionmarks quickly turned into exclamationmarks as Janja did one problem after the other while the others struggled to do any.
This time, she was simply on another level. Next generation!
The results tell the story:
Janja: 5 tops in 7 attempts (would probably have been 6, but I think she lost her concentration slightly when she decided to wave to the audience mid crux on the hardest problem)
The others: 3 tops (grand total!)
1. Janja Garnbret, SLO
2. Shauna Coxsey, GBR
3, Melissa Le Nevé, FRA
4. Jule Wurm, GER
5. Anna Stöhr, AUT
The La Sportiva Legends Only 2015 will be remembered for two things:
- Janja Garnbret's definite breakthrough on a World level
- The fantastic atmosphere generated and pure joy radiated from all the competitors before, during and after the competition.
La Sportiva Legends Only is sponsored by: Aloma Naprapati, Clifbar, Climbskin Spain, Dai Koyamada holds, Entre-Prises, Euroholds, Hito holds, Klättercentret, La Sportiva, Loop holds, Problemsolver, Psychoartholds and Rokodromo
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