Janja Garnbret is the greatest competitive climber of all time. For eight years, starting at age 17, she dominated her opponents with a ruthlessness that should put her in the same category as Simone Biles. After surviving the almost paralyzing pressure to win gold in Tokyo on her Olympic debut, she returned here as the clear favorite to repeat her success.

However, in the final round of the bouldering portion, it seemed like everything was falling apart. Garnbret cleared the first three boulder problems without any problems, pushing her way toward first place, but as she attempted to climb the final boulder, she caught her finger between two holds and felt a sharp pain. She was seething with anger as she left the stage, and she was crying behind the scenes.

Almost two hours later, the Slovenian returned for the lead competition, in which the athletes have to climb as high as possible up a huge steep wall with incredibly difficult and varied holds.

As the final competitor, Garnbret demonstrated her superior mental strength, alongside her unparalleled technical skills, in front of a cheering crowd chanting her name by outscoring Brooke Raboutou of the USA to secure her second Olympic gold medal.

“I was scared I’d broken something, but I didn’t care if I was missing a hand or a finger. I’m going to go out there and climb the lead route and just enjoy it,” Garnbret said. “I kept telling myself, ‘Just like in training, do it like in training, and everything will be fine.’ And I did it.”

It was a thrilling end to a brilliant final day of climbing that has established itself as an excellent addition to the Games. Climbing is, after all, a fundamental concept – you either climb up or you fall. While the details of the scoring system are complicated, the struggles of certain competitors provide context for how difficult certain holds and routes are. Watching the exceptional climbers in each discipline outdo their opponents and break new ground is thrilling and exhilarating.

Although Garnbret continued to succeed despite her physical problems, the most notable performance came from Ai Mori, a 20-year-old standout lead climber from Japan. She struggled in the bouldering round before pulling off a spectacular performance on the lead wall, where she put one hand on the top hold and then fell. Her performance drew a loud standing ovation. She finished in fourth place.

With the sport firmly on schedule and the emotions of Garnbret, Raboutou and Austrian bronze medalist Jessica Pilz underscoring how quickly the Olympics have become such a significant event for the sport, the question is whether climbing will be allowed to showcase its full range of competitions. In Tokyo, the sport featured one men’s and one women’s event.

At that time, it was decided that all three types of climbing – speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing – should be combined in one championship in Japan, even though the traditional climbing types of bouldering and lead climbing are completely different from speed climbing, which lead and boulder climbers rarely practice. The fact that Garnbret was able to win gold in this completely unfamiliar format is testament to Garnbret’s genius.

In Paris, there were two medals in climbing – speed climbing and combination (bouldering and lead). The climbers agreed on Saturday that they would like to have separate medals for bouldering, lead, combination and speed climbing in Los Angeles in 2028.

Regardless of the rules, Garnbret’s legend continues to grow. In addition to eight world championship titles, two silver medals and 45 gold medals in World Cup events, she now has two Olympic gold medals to her name. While most climbers have their own specialty, she thrives on bouldering and lead climbing, whether she’s under crushing pressure in Tokyo or physically battered in Paris.

“Nobody else in any other sport has such a consistent athlete as her,” said Britain’s Erin McNeice, who finished fifth. “She’s won so many medals and she’s only 25. It’s incredible and the more you look into it, the more incredible it is how successful she is. It’s inspiring to be on the same stage as her.”

Unlike many of her other victories, this one was not easy. She is delighted with an incredible achievement and it will also be an additional motivation for her to maintain her lead as the target on her back keeps getting bigger.

“In the past I’ve shown what’s possible and how strong you can become,” Garnbret said. “The girls want to beat me and train hard. But I train hard too, so I always try to be two steps ahead of them. And today it was enough.”