Zélia Avezou climbed early, then waited. When Janja Garnbret finally walked out as the last competitor of the women's final in Keqiao, the arithmetic was already settled. Iconics records it plainly: the Frenchwoman had won her first World Climbing Series gold, and she had done it by two tenths of a point.
Two tenths of a point
The season-opening Boulder final on 2 May 2026 turned on efficiency. Under the World Climbing scoring system, each additional attempt reduces a climber's score by 0.1 point, making efficiency critical, and Garnbret flashed the final boulder to reach 84.6 points — not enough to pass Avezou, who finished with 84.8. Both women had topped three of the four problems and completed four zones. The gap lived entirely in the attempts.
It opened quietly. Avezou and Garnbret made zone on their first try for problem one, as did most others; Avezou then flashed problem two while Garnbret topped it in two attempts, leaving Avezou 0.1 points ahead. Avezou topped problem three in two attempts and Garnbret in four, pushing the lead to 0.3 points; on the final problem Avezou topped in two. That meant even a Garnbret flash could not beat her.
There was a further complication. Avezou's French teammate Oriane Bertone, a world silver medallist, was in contention for gold before the final boulder but failed to score, slipping off the podium — a result Avezou said left her with mixed feelings. "My teammate not getting the top got me the win. I don't really like this situation because I hope she can do her best. It's always hard not to root for your friends," she said. Oceania Mackenzie of Australia completed the podium in third.
The story around her was about someone else. While all eyes were on Janja Garnbret and her search for a 50th gold, Zélia Avezou focused on her climbing to clinch her first gold ahead of her rivals. The milestone would have to wait. Avezou's own method was simpler. "I think focusing on your first try is important, because we never know if the boulders afterwards would be easy or not. Tonight I really tried to do my first attempt as best as I could," she said.
A step, not a surprise
The result read as an upset only from the outside. The 22-year-old from France qualified for the final in sixth place, then secured her first World Cup victory. The pedigree was already there. She competed at the 2023 European Games, winning the gold medal in the women's bouldering event, and took bronze in the combined event at the 2024 IFSC European Championships. A Paris 2024 Olympian from a climbing family, she had circled a senior World Cup gold for seasons.
In Keqiao she stopped circling. Avezou climbed her boulders, sat down, and let the numbers hold.
