Gold for Luka Potočar and silver for Janja Garnbret at...

Gold for Luka Potočar and silver for Janja Garnbret at the inaugural World Cup in Koper.

Luka Potočar proved in front of the home crowd that he is in excellent form and won his first gold medal at the Koper World Cup in lead.

Another Slovenian medal was won in Koper by the best Slovenian sport climber Janja Garnbret, who took silver this time. A several-thousand-strong crowd of fans helped guide the climbers to the top and created an exceptional atmosphere at the sports event.

The current European runner-up in lead climbing, 20-year-old Luka Potočar, won his first gold medal at the World Cup lead climbing event in Koper, organized by the Alpine Association of Slovenia under the auspices of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), with a height of 30+. As he said enthusiastically after the competition, the several-thousand-strong support from the audience was his excellent motivation. “I felt great in Koper and competing in front of so many spectators was really incredible. I felt good in the qualifications, later in the semifinals, and there was not too much nervousness before the final either. It was good that we had done some training on this wall and I knew it a bit. At this point, I would like to thank the organizers for preparing a perfect competition and such an atmosphere. I'm really happy that we have such an event in Slovenia.”

Second place went to Swiss Sascha Lehmann and third to German Yannick Flohe. There was no other Slovenian representative in the final. Two events before the end of the season, Luka Potočar is second in the overall lead standings.

The current European champion in lead, bouldering, and combined, 23-year-old Janja Garnbret, after an excellent performance in the semifinals where she was the only one to reach the top, could not grasp a new victory in the final. “Sometimes it doesn't turn out as we expect and second place is an excellent place. Today I had to admit superiority to the Japanese climber, who was strong competition throughout the competition. I am very satisfied with the final route setting; I got a strong challenge that I was not equal to today.” First place went to Japanese Ai Mori and third place to American Brooke Raboutou.


Garnbret reached her 54th career podium and still leads the overall lead standings.

European runner-up in combined events, 22-year-old Mia Krampl, also competed in the final, reaching height 21+ for sixth place, which is her best result this year at a World Cup event. “The route was very difficult; the route setters challenged us well. The atmosphere was incredible; at the start, there was a bit of nervousness because I wanted to show the best I know in front of the home crowd. The result is not as I hoped, but I am satisfied with the competition, I climbed well. However, this is a sign that I will train even better.”

The selector of the Slovenian national sport climbing team, Gorazd Hren, was more than enthusiastic after the competition with the placements of his protégés. “I am very happy with Luka Potočar's victory; he was close to this gold all along and now this medal is finally his. He deserves it. True, Janja didn't win, she took second place, but she is still the best sport climber. Mia Krampl showed with her placement that she is in good form. I'm also happy that as many as 11 boys and girls qualified for the semifinals. The atmosphere in Koper was completely incredible. It's really good to have such a crowd of fans and to hear their loud support.”

“The results of our athletes are a wonderful icing on the cake of the successful organization of the World Cup in Koper. Numerous fans created an indescribable atmosphere and pushed the competitors toward the top,” said the general secretary of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, Damjan Omerzu, after the end of the competition and invited everyone to the event next year.


Other placements of Slovenian competitors at the WC in Koper 2022:


Vita Lukan: 10th place

Lučka Rakovec: 16th place

Katja Debevec: 18th place

Lana Skušek: 20th place

Rebeka Kamin: 24th place

Tjaša Slemenšek: 35th place

Domen Škofic: 15th place

Martin Bergant: 20th place

Zan Lovenjak Sudar: 24th place

Milan Preskar: 27th place

Gregor Vezonik: 31st place

Anže Peharc: 36th place

Matic Kotar: 40th place