Every Olympic Games brings us a small handful of iconic moments. Often, these moments come from athletes so dominant in their sport that they stand out even among the best competitors in the world.
And, as this year’s Paris Games have already shown — it’s not always about winning a gold medal.
Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina captured the world’s attention by executing a perfect barrel roll in a massive Tahiti wave, flashing judges 10 fingers to show them he deserved a perfect score, and then dismounting so spectacularly that a photo of his midair leap “broke the internet.” It doesn’t matter that Medina took home bronze instead of gold — he’s the guy we will remember.
Simone Biles helped Team USA retake the gold in gymnastics with mesmerizing performances on the floor and balance beam. Does it matter that Biles then faltered in the individual floor exercise, winning silver instead of gold? Not a chance. With 11 medals, she’s already the greatest in the history of the sport, with nothing left to prove.
On Tuesday, the Olympics gave us yet another iconic performance. This time, it’s from Slovenian climber Janja Garnbret. But she’s not done yet, and you can still see her work her magic on her path toward the podium.
Competitive Climbing’s GOAT
Already hailed as the greatest competitive climber of all time, Garnbret showed up to the bouldering semi-finals to the cheers of an adoring crowd. They knew who they had come to see, and the 25-year-old didn’t disappoint. Climbing with an undeniable swagger, Garnbret gave the kind of iconic performance that doesn’t just win gold medals — it captures our collective imagination.
This YouTube clip from NBC Sports captures most of the action.
Garnbret ultimately “flashes” three of the four bouldering problems, meaning she climbed them the first time without practice.
She falls only a single time on the third problem. On her second try, Garnbret pulls off the toughest move: extending her legs into nearly a full split while wedged between two large holds. As with all the boulders, she finishes the short route by turning and smiling at the crowd while still hanging from her fingertips.
But Garnbret is like Biles. She’s not just a master — she’s a maverick, and she proves it on the final boulder problem. Facing a tricky and delicate bit of footwork, Garnbret makes a different choice. She simply skips across the wall like a ballet dancer, grabs the next holds, and soars to the top.
Instead of doing the route as prescribed, she made it even more spectacular.
“This is what I love from her,” NBC’s Meagan Martin said on the commentary. “She does things that wouldn’t make any sense for anyone else. But for her, they work.”
The brisk performance — in which Garnbret barely seems to break a sweat — earned her a near-perfect score of 99.6. Even for Garnbret, who took home gold when climbing debuted at the Tokyo Olympics 3 years ago, it’s an awe-inspiring display of vertical mastery.
“She has won every competition you can think of … and this is why,” Martin said as Garnbret quickly dispatches the first boulder. “She’s just so talented, she’s so powerful, she’s so good at the coordination, at the gymnastic style of movement, and her fingers are so strong, she has so much endurance — I don’t even know what her weakness is if I’m being honest.”
Calling someone the GOAT has never been more fitting.
When to Watch Olympic Climbing
You can watch Janja Garnbret again on Thursday (Aug. 8) in the women’s semifinals for lead climbing. This event involves roped climbing up big walls, another of Garnbret’s specialties, so don’t miss it! Women’s finals for both bouldering and lead will happen on Saturday, so keep an eye out for more fireworks from Garnbret.
But we’d be remiss not to mention other great climbers making names for themselves in Paris this summer. In the third and final climbing category, speed climbing, both the men’s and women’s events have already proven some of the games’ most interesting competitions.
Tuesday saw new world records in speed climbing for men (18-year-old Sam Watson of Texas) and for women (Aleksandra Mirosław of Poland). The quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals for women’s speed climbing are set for Wednesday, while men’s speed climbing finals will happen on Thursday.
As for men’s bouldering and lead climbing, the semifinals will happen on Wednesday, with the finals scheduled for Friday. Climbers to watch include Japan’s Sorato Anraku, Germany’s Alexander Megos, and, of course, the Czech Republic’s Adam Ondra.
