Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret dominates qualifying as Team GB’s Shauna Coxsey fails to make final but realises Olympic dream
As Shauna Coxsey and Iuliia Kaplina threw their bodies up a 15-metre vertical wall as fast as they possibly could, the difference between them was immediately clear. Kaplina is the world record holder at speed climbing. Coxsey is, well, not a speed climber at all. Kaplina immediately separated herself from her British rival, but then as she neared the top, she slipped. By the time she returned to the ground, she was weeping.
While the announcer at Aomi Urban Sports Park tried to comfort Kaplina by pointing out to the crowd of country delegations and volunteers that she was still in fifth place after her first attempt, she knew the truth. Such is her specialty in speed, in this strange combination of three distinct climbing sports under one roof, Kaplina almost needed to be perfect due to her vulnerability on the other two events.
