Slovenia's Garnbret wins inaugural women's climbing gold
Slovenia's Garnbret wins inaugural women's climbing gold
TOKYO (AFP) - Slovenian spiderwoman Janja Garnbret gave a climbing masterclass on Friday, scaling new heights to win the inaugural women s Olympic gold medal.
Garnbret blew away the competition in the bouldering section of the eight-woman final, solving two out of three "problems" while her rivals failed to fully overcome any.
The 22-year-old followed that up by climbing highest in the lead section, giving her the title on 5.00 points despite finishing fifth in the opening speed round.
Japan s Miho Nonaka claimed silver on 45.00 points, while her compatriot Akiyo Noguchi -- competing in her last event before retiring -- took bronze on 64.00.
In the Olympic format, the winner is decided by multiplying each climber s finishing position in the three disciplines of speed, lead and bouldering.
The climber with the lowest score is the winner.
Garnbret is a six-time world champion and came into the event as the hot favourite.
Poland s Aleksandra Miroslaw set a new speed record in the final with a time of 6.84sec.
Spain s Alberto Gines Lopez won the men s gold medal on Thursday.
