In front of a packed stadium in Innsbruck, Austria, 26 climbers battled for a spot in the finals of the Lead competition. The women’s event was particularly intense as two dominant athletes, Janja Garnbret of Slovenia and Mori Ai of Japan, went head to head.
Garnbret emerged victorious with a score of 48+, just a few moves away from the top of the route. Ai finished in second place with the same score, while Jessica Pilz came in third with 43+. Despite their close finish, both athletes expressed their excitement about competing against each other and the supportive crowd.
The US athlete Annie Sanders also made it into the top eight and earned her first trip to a Lead final round. Mattea Pötzi, another Austrian competitor, finished eighth with a score of 34+. The Austrian home team’s performance was further strengthened by Julia Fiser who achieved her best career placement at ninth place with the same score as Pötzi and Flora Oblasser who made a stunning World Cup debut at tenth place with a score of 33+.
Oblasser spoke about her experience saying “The semi-final route was cool and people were so loud. I always enjoy climbing in front of my home crowd and my family was there somewhere cheering me on.” The support from the crowd helped push all athletes to achieve their best performances. For complete results of women’s Lead semi-final click here [https://www
