Janja Garnbret returned from a competitive climbing hiatus of nine months to dominate the IFSC Climbing World Cup Innsbruck 2025 stop with Bouldering and Lead wins as Briton Toby Roberts earned his first 2025 win in the men’s Bouldering event.
The Bouldering event saw Garnbret make her first foray back into competitive climbing since last September, and she did not disappoint by topping all four boulders to score 99.3 and land her 47th World Cup gold.
Competing in her first World Cup stop since Koper 2024, the two-time Olympic Combined champion flashed W3 and W4 to take the win as France’s Oriane Bertone earned her third silver of 2025 with 69.8 points and Japan’s Matsufuji Anon claimed bronze. Bertone claimed her first overall Bouldering title with 4375 points from Japan’s Mao Nakamura.
Garnbret, 26, said: “It feels amazing. I had a bit of a shaky start in qualification, then it felt 100 per cent better in the semi-final, and now I felt like my old self in the final. I did feel a bit rusty on the first boulder, but after the second one, I felt like the normal Janja again.”
Sunday’s Lead final saw her bag another victory by an eight-move margin, her score of 41 way clear from the rest of the field as Italian Laura Rogora secured silver and Briton Erin McNeice bronze.
After wrapping up her 48th title and third consecutive Boulder–Lead golden combo in Innsbruck, Garnbret revealed: “You never forget how to compete, but being back after nine months, in the middle of the season, was not the easiest thing. I had a lot of doubts. It was exhausting, but at the same time, I’m so happy I climbed like I wanted to. The route was so fun, so nice. There was a little bit of hesitation on the swing, but I think it was because I didn’t know if I could reach or not.”
The two-time Lead world champion added: “I love Innsbruck, that’s why I chose this competition for my return after the Olympic year, the crowd is fantastic, they give you fuel, they give you energy.”
In the men’s Bouldering event on Thursday, reigning Olympic Combined champion Roberts narrowly held off Japan’s Sorato Anraku by 69.8 to 69.6 to triumph, with Belgium’s Hannes Van Duysen third after a 54.6 score.
Anraku, 18, captured the overall World Cup Bouldering title from Frenchman Mejdi Schalck, his third consecutive men’s Bouldering title, placing him in elite company with legends like Austrian Kilian Fischhuber.
Roberts, 20, said: “I wanted to go out and climb the way I know I can. This competition has been incredible, I enjoyed every moment, and to get away with a gold medal doesn’t even feel real. This season has been quite hard, just going into this, I wanted to give it everything. I’m so happy.”
The Lead final was another chance for Roberts to impress, and he grabbed it, all climbers on the podium reaching the top with Japan’s Neo Suzuki winning from Roberts in silver and Spaniard Alberto Ginés López, 22, securing his third bronze medal of 2025 after Wujiang and Bali.
