Slovenian sport climbing star Janja Garnbret won the first IFSC World Cup event of the new season in Keqiao, China, confirming the status of the best woman climber ahead of the Paris Summer Olympics.

Garnbret entered the finals in the bouldering event as the leader both in the qualifiers and semi-finals, only to confirm the excellent form in the finals on 9 April.

The 25-year-old reigning Olympic champion increased the overall number of her victories in the World Cup to an absolute record of 42.

"The whole competition went fantastically, exactly as I had imagined. From qualification to the final I climbed calmly, I believed I was well prepared, I climbed with determination and confidence and I wouldn't have changed a thing," Garnbret told Slovenian media after the event.

"It was the best possible start of the season. I proved that I trained hard and it showed on the wall, so I'm happy, I'm happy and I'm looking forward to the competition in Wujiang in a couple of days," she added.

Garnbret is tied with South Korea's Jain Kim for the most podium finishes in the World Cup. Both have 62 podium finishes. Only Japan's Akiyo Noguchi has 68 more.

Garnbret is however not concentrating on the World Cup this season as her first goal is the Paris Summer Olympics, where she will be looking to win a second Olympic gold medal after securing a ticket to Paris last year.

She will compete one more time in China, this weekend in Wujiang in lead, and in June she will take part in the World Cup event in Innsbruck before retreating for the training camp for the Olympics.