Climbing, both sport and alpine, is one of those activities in which the little nation of Slovenia has an outsized presence, and this weekend saw the opening event of the season with regard to the former –  the first bouldering competition of the IFSC 2019 Climbing Worldcup, held in Meiringen, Switzerland.

Taking first place for the women was Janja Garnbret, the Slovene teen said to be “the best climber in the world”, and an athlete whose progress it’s been a joy to follow over the last few years, as the sport gears up for it’s first appearance in the Olympics (Tokyo 2020). Garnbret took gold, followed by Akiyo Noguchi (Japan) and the UK’s Shauna Coxsey.

With regard to the men’s event, this was won by Japan’s Kokoro Fuji, followed by Jongwon Chon (Korea) and Tomoaki Takata (Japan). The highest ranked Slovene was Jernej Kruder, in 11^th place.

You can follow all our sports climbing coverage here, while our stories on alpinism are here

Slovenia’s Domen Škofic took first place on the podium in Xiamen, China, over the weekend, getting gold in the men’s lead event, with Italy’s Stefano Ghisolfi in second and South Korea’s Hyunbin Min in third. 

STA, 21 October 2018 - Slovenia's teen climbing sensation, Janja Garnbret, has secured the overall Climbing World Cup victory in the women's lead discipline for the third consecutive time. 

South Korea's Kian Jim takes gold. 

Her place in the record books is already assured. 

The young climber continues to dominate the sport. 

STA, 9 September 2018 - Slovenian climbing prodigy Janja Garnbret has won silver at the Climbing World Championship in Innsbruck. Both her and the Austrian Jessica Pilz reached the top in the lead event on Saturday, but Garnbret needed eleven seconds longer though still well under the six-minute limit. 

STA, 19 August 2018 - Slovenian climbers reached a new milestone in Munich on Saturday, having won three medals at the IFSC World Cup event. Janja Garnbret and Gregor Vezonik won in their respective categories and Jernej Kruder was second, which earned him the overall victory in the bouldering World Cup. 

Garnbret remains top of the world. 

While Domen Skofič takes third place in men's lead, and Slovenians take two second places in the paraclimbing events