UKC

At a launch event in London for the release of the The Wall: Climb for Gold on Netflix UK, we spoke to Olympic Champion Janja Garnbret about her childhood, Tokyo 2020 and future plans.

Janja Garnbret says her life hasn't changed much since winning Olympic Gold at Tokyo 2020, although some people recognise her in the local supermarket and demand autographs.

The Games may not have turned the 23-year-old Slovenian into a global household name, but given that we're meeting in a 5-star London hotel for a Netflix launch of a feature-length film showcasing four climbing Olympians, it's clear that both Garnbret and the sport itself have stepped somewhat out of the shadows and into the limelight.

Read more

If she sends La Dura Dura is there another physical sport which would have such a small gap between the top female and male performance?

Ultra running, perhaps?

It's pretty close in equestrian sports Rachel Blackmore is one of the top jockeys right now, and the top riders in eventing tend to be a mix of male and females.

Yes - both ultra running and equestrian crossed my mind. 

Is equestrian more linked to skill than physicality (e.g. as long as you achieve the baseline fitness/strength needed it's much less important vs other factors)?  Taking golf as another 'skill dominated' sport women can't compete with men at the top level as strength is still too important a factor.

I wondered about snooker, on the surface not very physical. Is it all about the mental game, like chess, or is physique important in getting strong cue action?

I have found this scientific article exploring the reasons why the gender gap is small in rock climbing pretty interesting  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665944121000043#:~:text....

Thanks for posting that. Extremely interesting. A few things took me by surprise! Especially the isometrics bit in 5.4...