Janja Garnbret overcomes American Brooke Raboutou to defend Olympic gold medal in sport climbing

LE BOURGET, France -- Janja Garnbret and Brooke Raboutou cried together in joy as they hugged after the boulder and lead sport climbing final at the Paris Games on Saturday.

Garnbret had just enhanced her status as one of the biggest stars in the sport by defending her Olympic title. Raboutou was celebrating the first ever climbing Olympic medal for the U.S. women's team.

Garnbret, the Slovenian who won the combined gold when sport climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games three years ago, overcame Raboutou for the victory on the last climb of the day in Le Bourget to secure the gold.

Leonardo Veddriq of Indonesia won the speed gold in Paris, and Toby Roberts of Great Britain won the men’s gold in lead and boulder.

Aleksandra Miroslaw of Poland won the women's gold in speed on Wednesday.

In Tokyo, boulder and lead were combined with speed, and only one medal each was awarded for the men and women.

No other athlete has won as many international climbing titles as Garnbret, who attracts just as many headlines for her dominance in the sport as she does for being an advocate for eradicating eating disorders from sport climbing.

The eight-time world champion had to be sidelined for a while after breaking her toe last year.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games