Janja Garnbret

Janja Garnbret, born on 12 March 1999, is a Slovenian professional rock climber who specializes in sport climbing and competition climbing. She has achieved amazing success, winning many competition lead climbing and competition bouldering events, as well as two Olympic gold medals. Many people consider her the greatest competition climber of all time.

In 2021, Garnbret made history by becoming the first-ever female Olympic gold medalist in climbing. She did this again in 2024, successfully defended her title and became the most successful Slovenian athlete at the Summer Olympics. She is also known for being the world's first-ever female climber to onsight an 8c graded sport climbing route, which is a very difficult achievement.

Garnbret began winning international titles at a young age, taking her first at the 2014 World Youth B Championships. By 2016, at just 17 years old, she had already won several major competitions, including the World Championships in lead climbing. Over the years, she continued to dominate, winning many more titles and setting new records.

As of May 2026, Garnbret has won the most IFSC gold medals of any competitive climber in history. She has won 31 lead climbing World Cup events and 18 bouldering World Cup events, making a total of 49 victories at the World Cup level. Her achievements show just how talented and dedicated she is to the sport of climbing.

Early life

Janja Garnbret began climbing when she was seven years old and joined her first national competition at eight. She achieved her first major victory at the 2013 European Youth Championships, where she won the bouldering event.

Climbing career

Janja Garnbret began climbing in 2015 and quickly showed great skill. She won many competitions that year, including a bouldering event in Sweden and another in Slovenia.

She kept winning more titles over the next few years. By 2016, she had won big competitions like the World Cup and World Championships. In 2019, she did something no one had done before by winning every bouldering event all season.

In 2021, she made history by becoming the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in climbing. She won again in 2024, showing her amazing talent. Besides competitions, she also climbed very hard routes outdoors, achieving some of the toughest climbs in the world.

Rankings

See also: Best IFSC results and Janja Garnbret in the Climbing World Cup

Climbing World Cup

Climbing World Championships

Youth

Senior

Climbing European Championships

Youth

Senior

World Cup podiums

As of 9 May 2026, Janja Garnbret has won 49 World Cup events and has a total of 71 podium finishes.

Lead

Bouldering