Johnathan Walker:Brooke Raboutou earns historic climbing medal for Team USA in communal sport at Olympics

LE BOURGET,Johnathan Walker France — About 30 minutes after the women’s boulder and lead combined final ended Saturday, Brooke Raboutou’s face hurt from smiling. She tried to relax and keep a straight face, but it didn’t last long.

The American sport climber had just won her first Olympic medal, silver, at her (and the sport’s) second Games, along with becoming the first Team USA climber to medal in sport climbing.

And she did it all surrounded by a close community of good friends, particularly Slovenian gold medalist Janja Garnbret.

"We have an incredible friendship where we both want each other to do our best," said Raboutou, the 23-year-old American, who trained in Slovenia. "So that's what happened today, and that feels really good to share that with somebody. …

"To share that connection as both a friend and an idol is incredible. I look up to her so much, and I'm so grateful for the support she's given me as well."

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Garnbret, the favorite, finished first with 168.5 total points, followed by Raboutou with 156.0 and Austria’s Jessica Pilz with 147.4 points for bronze at Le Bourget Climbing Venue.

"With Brooke, this was our wish," said Garnbret, who added she was relieved when it was finally over. "This was our pact … that we would stand on the Olympic podium together."

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Garnbret and Raboutou excelled in the boulder portion of the final, finishing first and second, respectively, and just 0.4 points apart. They were the only climbers out of the eight-athlete final to top three of the four boulder problems.

Between the World Cup circuit, some climbers training together and, of course, being at the Paris Games, they’re a community of athletes who are competitive but support each other. Before the boulder portion during an observation period, some of them appeared to work together to solve the problems.

Pilz, 27, said she felt the World Cup events are "a bit more friendly and open" compared with the Olympics, where she "could feel the pressure and tension this time." But she chalked that up to the atmosphere and still praised the "good community" of climbing pals.

"The climbing community is absolutely incredible," Garnbret said. "Of course, we are competitors. But still, we have so much respect for each other, and we are so happy for each other.

"And it's still so beautiful because we have observation together; we all talk about the boulder. … So It's fantastic, and I hope it stays like this."

For the lead portion, once each climber was done competing, they collapsed into chairs in front of the wall, watching and cheering as they all finished.

Raboutou had a standout lead climbing performance and made it about three-quarters of the way up the wall, collecting 72 points and guaranteeing herself a medal.

Garnbret previously won Olympic gold at the 2021 Tokyo Games in the women’s combined – a different format compared with the Paris Olympics when the one event featured boulder, lead and speed. Raboutou finished fifth in Tokyo, and Pilz was seventh.

"So many of the girls in finals, we’re really close, and I hope that they were able to enjoy their climbing today because everyone deserves to be here," Raboutou said. 

"(The feeling of community is) unlike any other sport. I think climbing is so special in that we truly do want the best for each other, and we're friends. Obviously, we're competitive, but we want to compete against each other at our best, and that's what pushes us and pushes our sport."