Quick Facts
Biography
Jessica Pilz (born 22 November 1996) is an Austrian professional rock climber who specializes in competition climbing. She won the 2018 IFSC Climbing World Championships for competition lead climbing.
Climbing career
Competition climbing
She started competing in 2010, both in competition lead climbing and competition bouldering. From 2011 to 2015, she won six international youth competitions in lead climbing. In 2014, she also won both the European Youth Cup and Youth Championships in bouldering.
In 2017 she won the Winter Military World Games both in lead climbing and bouldering. In 2018, she won the Lead Climbing World Championships in Innsbruck, by climbing the route a few seconds faster than the former World Champion, Janja Garnbret.
In 2019, Pilz placed 10th in the Combined World Championships, qualifying her for the 2020 Olympics, where she finished 7th.
In August 2023, Pilz qualified for the combined event at the 2024 Olympics by placing second in the 2023 World Championship combined event.
Rock climbing
She rarely climbs outdoors, but in January 2016, during a short trip to the famous crag of Oliana in Spain, she was able to redpoint two 8c+ (5.14c) graded sport climbing routes.
Rankings
Climbing World Cup[5]
| Discipline | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 33 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 10 | - | 10 |
| Bouldering | – | – | – | – | 25 | 58 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 7 |
| Speed | – | – | – | – | – | 57 | 63 | - | - | - |
| Combined | – | – | – | – | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | - | - |
Climbing World Championships
Youth
| Discipline | 2010 Youth B | 2011 Youth B | 2012 Youth A | 2013 Youth A | 2014 Junior | 2015 Junior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Bouldering | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| Speed | – | – | – | – | – | 21 |
Adult
| Discipline | 2016 | 2018 | 2019 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 5 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Bouldering | - | 4 | 33 | 8 |
| Speed | - | 59 | 43 | - |
| Combined | - | 3 | 10 | 2 |
Climbing European Championships
Youth
| Discipline | 2012 Youth A | 2013 Youth A | 2014 Junior | 2015 Junior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Bouldering | – | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Adult
| Discipline | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 11 | 3 | 3 |
| Bouldering | – | 5 | 12 |
| Speed | – | 31 | 41 |
Sport climbing at the Winter Military World Games
| Discipline | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Lead | 1 |
| Bouldering | 1 |
| Speed | 2 |
European Youth Cup
| Discipline | 2010 Youth B | 2011 Youth B | 2012 Youth A | 2013 Youth A | 2014 Junior | 2015 Junior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | – |
| Bouldering | – | 3 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 2 |
Number of medals in the Climbing World Cup
Lead[6]
| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2015 | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2018 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Total | 2 | 9 | 6 | 17 |
Bouldering[6]
| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
