Slovenian climber Janja Garnbret is a truly exceptional phenomenon. A two-time Olympic champion, ten-time World Champion and European Champion in Lead, Boulder and Combined, she is also a 10-time overall winner of the World Cup. In total, she has an incredible 51 World Cup victories to her name.

She has also achieved outstanding results on rock this year, becoming the first woman to climb the 9b+ route Bibliographie. She further confirmed her excellent form at this year’s World Series event in Koper.

In the Lead final, she reached a height of 42+ to take the top spot, securing a record sixth victory. Before this, she had reached the final nine times in Kranj and Koper, finishing second twice and third twice.

All eyes were on Garnbret, as they always are in Koper, and once again she did not disappoint getting over a potential golden slip to fight her way up the women’s final route.

With USA’s Brooke Raboutou setting a high point of 33 and Garnbret the last climber out, the Slovenian climbing phenom had a moment where she reached for the winning hold and slipped down, managing to catch the slip, keeping her composure, and then moving on to fight her way up to hold 42+ for the win.

Speaking after Garnbret said: “It feels amazing to compete in front of the home crowd. I’m not competing much but every time I step out onto the field, I feel I am in competition mode.

“The route was fantastic, but I have to say I was fighting with the humidity. I was sliding off every hold. First there was a scary moment on the yellow pocket, I had zero chalk, but also the upper purple part was super humid, so I am glad I came up to that point.”

The Garnbret gold is her 33rd in the Lead discipline and her 51st overall.

No stranger to a Lead podium, South Korea’s Chaehyun Seo won bronze on hold 32+ for her fourth of the year, she has also taken silver making it five medals from five 2026 World Climbing Series comps.

Rosa Rekar was visibly disappointed falling from the wall on hold 30 in front of her home crowd, that was only enough for fifth, and she would have been wanting more with such a supportive arena.

A total of 147 sport climbers from 36 countries competed at the Koper event, including a 12-member Slovenian team led by national team selector Gorazd Hren and national team coaches Luka Fonda, Domen Švab and Anže Štremfelj.

The Slovenian team was also represented by semi-finalists Mia Krampl, who finished 20th, Lučka Rakovec in 21st, Sara Čopar in 23rd and semi-finalist Luka Potočar, who finished the competition in 24th place.

The home event was concluded in the qualification round by Lucija Tarkuš in 31st place, Lana Gorič in 45th, Jaka Jaki in 47th, Lovro Črep in 50th, Jennifer Buckley in 51st and Samo Golob in 53rd.

This World Series event was particularly special as Slovenia celebrated 30 years of World Cup Lead climbing, marking 25 years in Kranj and five years in Koper.

The event not only brought together the world’s best climbers, but also welcomed Slovenian representatives who had previously reached the finals at either the Kranj or Koper event. The Koper crowd welcomed Martina Čufar Potard, Maja Štremfelj, Matej Sova, Tomaž Valjavec, Mina Markovič, Lučka Franko, Klemen Bečan, Urban Primožič, Janja Garnbret, Vita Lukan, Lučka Rakovec, Mia Krampl, Luka Potočar, Milan Preskar, Rosa Rekar and Lucija Tarkuš.

Natalija Gros Kunaver, Domen Škofic and Vita Lukan were absent from the celebrations.

The best competitors at the top of the world rankings may change, but Tomo Česen remains. For 30 years, he has been an indispensable part of organising Slovenia’s sport climbing World Cup event, emphasising that he continues his work because of Slovenia’s top athletes, who deserve it.

As a special thank you from the Mountaineering Association of Slovenia (PZS) for his contribution to the development of sport climbing and to organising 30 World Cup events in Slovenia, as well as for his dedication, passion and loyalty, Česen was honoured by World Climbing President Marco Maria Scolaris and PZS President Martin Šolar.

The 30th anniversary World Series Lead event, which has been held in Koper for the past five years, was an unforgettable experience for both spectators and competitors. Alongside the outstanding additional programme, excellent weather conditions and the support of the local community, this year’s event was certainly taken to another level.

We look forward to everything that is still to come in Koper.