Janja Garnbret Wins Second Olympic Gold; Team USA Climbs to Two Medals and World Record in Paris

August 11, 2024

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Janja Garnbret training at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games — Janja Garnbret put on a show in Paris, becoming the sole sport climbing athlete to have won two gold medals at the Olympics. (Pictured: Garnbret training at Le Bourget, the site of the sport climbing action in Paris, prior to the start of the event; photo by Drapella / Jan Virt / IFSC)

Multiple new world records, twice as many medals, upsets, last-minute heroics, star-studded podiums…sport climbing’s second Olympics had it all. Didn’t have a chance to catch the show in Paris? This quick recap will help you get caught up.

For more Olympic climbing coverage, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this page for results-related commentary from climbing media outlets around the globe.

Aleksandra Miroslaw broke her own world record and didn’t lose a race in Paris. (Pictured: Miroslaw celebrating after her record-setting run in qualifications; photo by Drapella / Virt / IFSC)

Miroslaw Perfect in Speed; Hunt Misses Out on Medal

The sport climbing event at the Paris Olympics ran from August 5-10, and Speed climbing kicked off the medal rounds. After thrice besting her own world record time—previously 6.24 seconds, set in 2023—in the qualification heats on Monday, lowering the women’s world record to 6.06 seconds, Aleksandra Miroslaw (POL) came out flying again in the finals. She had flawless runs in the quarterfinals and semifinals, then capped off the perfect week by finishing .08 seconds ahead of runner-up Lijuan Deng (CHN) for gold. Moments before the final race, her compatriot Aleksandra Kalucka (POL) claimed the first sport climbing medal at the Games in Paris, besting Rajiah Sallsabillah (INA) for bronze.

Emma Hunt and Oleksii Shulga — A slip in the Speed finals didn’t discourage Emma Hunt from continuing to embody the Olympic spirit: “Hunt stopped time and time again to cheer on competitors who were still climbing and exchange hugs with athletes who had also been eliminated,” reported USA Climbing. (Pictured: Hunt standing beside her coach, Oleksii Shulga, during the training days in Paris (click here to read about how Shulga helped Hunt reach the Olympic stage); photo by Drapella / Virt / IFSC)

For Team USA, Emma Hunt posted a quick time of 6.36 seconds in qualifications, but a slip in the quarterfinals ended her chance of earning a medal and resulted in a 5^th place finish, and teammate Piper Kelly placed 12^th out of the 14 women competing in Speed.

Veddriq Leonardo and Bassa Mawem — Veddriq Leonardo was unstoppable in Paris and climbed just .01 seconds off of Sam Watson’s record-setting pace on route to gold. (Pictured: Leonardo (left) training next to Bassa Mawem (right) in Paris; photo by Drapella / Virt / IFSC)

Leonardo Hangs on for Gold; Watson Breaks Own Record

In the men’s Speed competition, a new world record was being set left and right. On Tuesday, Sam Watson (USA) made headlines after coming away from qualifications with the fastest time—.04 seconds faster than the previous world record (4.79 seconds) he had set earlier this year. Watson came up .08 seconds short in the semifinals race with Peng Wu (CHN), but he still ended the day on a high note, further lowering the men’s world record to 4.74 seconds and edging Reza Alipour Shenazandifard (IRI) for bronze. Veddriq Leonardo (INA) had also been climbing fast all week, and he ultimately saved the best for last, racing to a personal best time in the finals to beat Wu by .02 seconds, for gold.

Zach Hammer, for Team USA, also competed in the men’s Speed event and, following the two seeding heats on Tuesday, got a tough draw in the elimination heat that pitted him against Watson, preventing him from reaching the finals and resulting in a 14^th place finish.

Still a teenager, 19-year-old Toby Roberts’ steady bouldering and lead climbing made all the difference in Paris. (Pictured: Roberts competing in the Boulder semis on Monday; photo by Drapella / Virt / IFSC)

Roberts an All-Around Star; Duffy Falls Few Holds Short

Different from sport climbing’s Olympic debut in Tokyo, the combined event in Paris consisted of only bouldering and lead climbing, and this time the scoring was based on a points system. For the semifinals, the Boulder and Lead action took place on separate days, whereas the two disciplines took place on the same day—30 minutes apart—for the finals.

Sorato Anraku (JPN), Toby Roberts (GBR) and Jakob Schubert (AUT) were the top-seeded athletes coming into the event, and none of them disappointed. In the Boulder finals on Friday, Anraku took the lead early and never gave it up, topping the first two problems—including a flash of the first one—and came just short of sending the final two. Then in Lead, Schubert set a high point that only Adam Ondra (CZE) could match, just one hold shy of the top. But in the end, it was Roberts who donned gold, following up his top-three performances in Boulder and Lead during the semis with another all-around day in which he scored top-three in both disciplines. Anraku finished in second place and Schubert—who had already won bronze at climbing’s Olympic debut, in Tokyo—added a second Olympic bronze medal to his collection.

Team USA’s Colin Duffy—who placed 7^th three years ago in Tokyo—came just about as close as it gets to winning an Olympic medal in sport climbing. Needing a top to end his Boulder final, Duffy came out on the dynamic last problem—featuring two lache moves separated by a double-paddle—and stuck the concluding lache with less than 25 seconds remaining, finishing just one point out of first. That score and his mark on the Lead wall kept him in a podium spot until the very last climb, which left him three points short of a medal. Teammate Jesse Grupper also competed in the Boulder/Lead event and finished in 18^th place out of 20 climbers.

Janja Garnbret in the Lead final — Not even a finger injury could stop Janja Garnbret from climbing to a second Olympic victory. (Pictured: Garnbret on her way to gold in the Lead final on Saturday; photo by Drapella / Virt / IFSC)

Garnbret Legend Continues; Raboutou Brings Home Silver

In the Women’s Boulder and Lead event, Janja Garnbret (SLO)—who won gold at the Olympics in Tokyo—was the favorite coming into the Games in Paris, and she further solidified her legendary status in the competition climbing world. Even after injuring a finger on the last problem of the Boulder final, she still rose to the occasion in the Lead final, closing out the sport climbing in Paris with a climb that netted her Olympic gold for a second straight summer Games. Only Jessica Pilz (AUT) and Ai Mori (JPN) climbed to a higher mark on the Lead wall; Mori finished in 4^th place, while Pilz gave the Austria team its second bronze medal in Paris.

Brooke Raboutou was the other star of the show on Saturday. After narrowly missing out on a medal in Tokyo, Raboutou looked every bit the part in Paris. She joined Garnbret as the only two athletes to top three of four problems in the Boulder final, and her score in Lead kept her atop the podium until the very last climb of the week. Raboutou’s silver medal marked the culmination of a multi-year redemption story and earned Team USA its highest showing at the Games in Paris. Teammate Natalia Grossman excelled in the Boulder semifinal—putting up the 5^th highest score—but just missed out on qualifying for the finals, finishing in 11^th place.

Below are the complete results of the sport climbing event at the 2024 Olympic Games:

Full Sport Climbing Results at the Paris Olympics

Women Speed

1.Aleksandra Miroslaw (POL) – Gold
2.Lijuan Deng (CHN) – Silver
3.Aleksandra Kalucka (POL) – Bronze
4.Rajiah Sallsabillah (INA)
5.Emma Hunt (USA)
6.Desak Made Made Rita Kusuma Dewi (INA)
7.Yafei Zhou (CHN)
8.Leslie Adriana Romero Perez (ESP)
9.Beatrice Colli (ITA)
10.Capucine Viglione (FRA)
11.Manon Lebon (FRA)
12.Piper Kelly (USA)
13.Sarah Tetzlaff (NZL)
14.Aniya Holder (RSA)

Men Speed

1.Veddriq Leonardo (INA) – Gold
2.Peng Wu (CHN) – Silver
3.Sam Watson (USA) – Bronze
4.Reza Alipour Shenazandifard (IRI)
5.Amir Maimuratov (KAZ)
6.Matteo Zurloni (ITA)
7.Bassa Mawem (FRA)
8.Julian David (NZL)
9.Rahmad Adi Mulyono (INA)
10.Yaroslav Tkach (UKR)
11.Jinbao Long (CHN)
12.Euncheol Shin (KOR)
13.Joshua Bruyns (RSA)
14.Zach Hammer (USA)

Women Boulder/Lead

1.Janja Garnbret (SLO) – Gold
2.Brooke Raboutou (USA) – Silver
3.Jessica Pilz (AUT) – Bronze
4.Ai Mori (JPN)
5.Erin McNeice (GBR)
6.Chaehyun Seo (KOR)
7.Oceania Mackenzie (AUS)
8.Oriane Bertone (FRA)
9.Miho Nonaka (JPN)
10.Zhilu Luo (CHN)
11.Natalia Grossman (USA)
12.Camilla Moroni (ITA)
13.Yuetong Zhang (CHN)
14.Zelia Avezou (FRA)
15.Ievgeniia Kazbekova (UKR)
16.Lucia Doerffel (GER)
17.Mia Krampl (SLO)
18.Laura Rogora (ITA)
19.Molly Thompson-Smith (GBR)
20.Lauren Mukheibir (RSA)

Men Boulder/Lead

1.Toby Roberts (GBR) – Gold
2.Sorato Anraku (JPN) – Silver
3.Jakob Schubert (AUT) – Bronze
4.Colin Duffy (USA)
5.Hamish McArthur (GBR)
6.Adam Ondra (CZE)
7.Alberto Gines Lopez (ESP)
8.Paul Jenft (FRA)
9.Yannick Flohe (GER)
10.Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
11.Sam Avezou (FRA)
12.Yufei Pan (CHN)
13.Alexander Megos (GER)
14.Hannes Van Duysen (BEL)
15.Dohyun Lee (KOR)
16.Luka Potocar (SLO)
17.Sascha Lehmann (SUI)
18.Jesse Grupper (USA)
19.Campbell Harrison (AUS)
20.Mel Janse Van Rensburg (RSA)

More Results Commentary on Sport Climbing at the Paris Olympics

Joe Robinson has been working in the climbing industry for over a decade and currently manages CBJ editorial. He traveled the world as the IFSC’s community manager during Olympic inclusion and across the U.S. while writing for Alpinist, Climberism, DPM and CBJ. He also worked in local climbing gyms of the Pacific Northwest and West Michigan while advancing economic empowerment, educational equity, youth development and diversity programs of national nonprofit organizations.

Janja Garnbret Wins Second Olympic Gold; Team USA Climbs to Two Medals and World Record in Paris

Miroslaw Perfect in Speed; Hunt Misses Out on Medal

Leonardo Hangs on for Gold; Watson Breaks Own Record

Roberts an All-Around Star; Duffy Falls Few Holds Short

Garnbret Legend Continues; Raboutou Brings Home Silver