Janja Garnbret, the undisputed titan of competitive sport climbing and the defending Olympic champion, is engaged in a battle far more significant than any she faces on the wall. Ahead of the Paris 2024 Games, the Slovenian star deliberately shifted her platform away from solely discussing performance and towards confronting the dangerous “taboo” of eating disorders within her sport. Garnbret’s voice, amplified by her status as the greatest competition climber of all time, has exposed a devastating secret: that the pursuit of a better strength-to-weight ratio—a critical advantage in climbing—has often led young athletes down a path of undernourishment, overtraining, and chronic illness. Her determined push for systemic change, including calls for mandatory health screenings and banning unhealthy athletes from competition, serves as a powerful call to action to protect the next generation of climbers from sacrificing their well-being for a brief moment of success.
The Taboo Topic: Weight and the Gravity of Climbing
Sport climbing, which made its Olympic debut in Tokyo, presents a unique challenge to the athlete’s body: success is often directly correlated with maximizing strength while minimizing body weight. Physics dictates that the lighter a climber is, the less mass they must pull up against gravity. This fundamental reality has created a toxic culture in many climbing gyms where unhealthy weight loss is frequently perceived as the fastest, easiest route to performance gains—a shortcut more appealing and less time-consuming than rigorous, long-term training.
Garnbret acknowledged that while the issue of eating disorders and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) was widely known within the climbing community, it was rarely, if ever, spoken about openly. She described the silence as a collective avoidance, stating that “Everybody knew about it, and everybody was talking behind each other’s back. So everybody was talking, but nobody said it out loud.” This pervasive silence allowed dangerous practices to persist, fueled by the visual evidence of rail-thin competitors succeeding and the insidious thought that starvation might equal excellence.
Raising the Alarm: The “Next Generation of Skeletons”
The motivation for Garnbret’s intervention was deeply personal and protective. She was horrified to overhear young girls in training facilities discussing how they could climb faster if they simply dropped a few kilograms. This realization spurred her to use her massive platform, issuing a raw and impactful statement on social media accompanied by a poignant black and white photograph.
Her message was unequivocal and stark: “Do we want to raise the next generation of skeletons? Let’s not look away.” This served as a siren call to the sport’s administrators, coaches, and parents. Garnbret’s objective was to dispel the dangerous myth that being light automatically equates to being strong. She emphasized the short-sighted nature of extreme dieting, warning that athletes are “risking their lives for a very small part of their life called career and after that they can have serious health consequences.” Her campaign was carefully articulated to be about awareness, not condemnation, seeking to lift the veil without calling out specific names.
The Institutional Response: Policies and Skepticism
In the wake of pressure from Garnbret and other elite athletes speaking out—who recounted experiences of feeling pressure to be thin, and the perverse pride that sometimes came with extreme weight loss—the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) introduced new regulations in February 2024, ahead of the Paris Games. These policies were designed to combat dangerously underweight athletes from competing and address the problem of RED-S.
The new rules mandate that climbers provide details of their health metrics, including height, weight, heart rate, and blood pressure. National federations are responsible for issuing health certificates based on these parameters, with the IFSC also conducting random testing throughout the competition season. However, Garnbret remains cautiously skeptical of the efficacy of the measures. She praised the policy on paper but insisted that until an athlete who fails the health criteria is actually barred from competing, the rules will not create the necessary cultural shift. “A first step seems to have been taken but further ones need to follow,” she noted, emphasizing that the true measure of change lies in the enforcement of the new criteria.
Changing the Culture: Food as Fuel, Not Foe
Garnbret’s proposed solution goes beyond medical screenings; it targets a fundamental shift in the sport’s vocabulary and philosophy. She argues that the key to cultural change lies in how the community, particularly coaches and mentors, discusses food, body image, and fitness.
For Garnbret, food must be framed as “fuel,” a vital component for peak performance and recovery, rather than a negative entity to be restricted or feared. She champions the idea that true strength is built on health and sustainable nutrition, countering the narrative that constant hunger is a badge of honour. She has also strongly advocated for the mandatory education of coaches, urging them to hire dietitians or other professionals to speak to athletes about proper nutrition and the dangers of eating disorders. Her overall message is one of positivity and wellness, believing that by talking openly about how we define what “fit” means, the sport can create a healthy environment where young athletes can truly thrive.
The Olympic Stage: Mental Fortitude vs. Physical Health
Heading into the Paris 2024 Olympics, Garnbret carried the pressure of being the defending champion while simultaneously driving this critical health initiative. Her own preparation served as a living example that health and dominance are not mutually exclusive. After overcoming a toe fracture in the preceding year, she approached Paris with immense mental clarity, deliberately choosing to stay outside the Olympic Village to minimize stress and treat the event like “just another World Cup.”
Her approach to the high-stakes competition emphasized mental fortitude and self-belief, focusing on controlled, enjoyable performance rather than perfection or unnecessary sacrifice. She had previously stated, “I wanted to say that being light does not mean being strong, that you can be healthy and you can be a good athlete.” Her subsequent performance in Paris—where she secured another gold medal despite a mid-competition finger scare—provided the ultimate, high-profile evidence supporting her argument: that sustained, championship-level success is a product of holistic health, relentless training, and a mindset that treats the body with respect. Her victories serve as a powerful beacon, validating her efforts to foster a healthier and more sustainable future for her sport.
