Janja Garnbret is the greatest competition climber of all time. For eight years, since the age of 17, she has dominated opponents with a level of ruthlessness that should put her in the same category as Simone Biles. Having navigated the near-crippling pressure to win gold in Tokyo on climbing’s debut at the Olympics, she returned here, heavily favoured to repeat.
In the final round of the bouldering section, though, it seemed as if things could be falling apart. Garnbret completed the first three bouldering problems without issue, pushing her towards first place, but as she was attempting to scale the final boulder she caught her finger between two holds and felt a sharp pain. She was seething as she left the stage and tearful behind the scenes.
