Pilz is relieved:

Pilz relieved: “Big dream comes true”

Jessica Pilz celebrates bronze!(Bild: APA/AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)

Jessica Pilz's relief at winning the bronze medal was clear to see. "I was afraid that it would be fourth place. The last few weeks have been extremely exhausting. I'm just happy that it worked out and that the big dream has come true," said the 27-year-old from Lower Austria in the ORF interview. 

"I tried to climb as relaxed as possible. I did really well, I was able to get everything out of it. After the bouldering, I saw that everything was extremely close together. I knew that I had to perform at full throttle, every single hold counts up there. In the end, I told myself that I would show my performance, everything else was out of my hands anyway," she explained.

After finishing sixth in bouldering with a strong performance in lead, she made it into the medal ranks. Olympic gold went to the Slovenian top favorite Janja Garnbret, just like three years ago in Tokyo, while silver went to the US-American Brooke Raboutou.

Pilz with her bronze medal(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Fear of fourth place
In Tokyo three years ago, Pilz narrowly missed out on a medal in seventh place, but this time she was rewarded. "I immediately looked at the coaches to see whether it was enough or not. I was afraid that it would be fourth place," explained Pilz, who hugged her coaches immediately after her lead. "All the coaches and support staff gave us great support. The most important thing is to have someone you can run to and who is happy for you." 

The Lower Austrian won the third Olympic medal overall for the Austrian Climbing Federation after Jakob Schubert's two bronze medals in Tokyo 2021 (combined) and Paris 2024 (bouldering & lead). In Paris, it was Austria's fifth medal overall.

And in her jubilation, Pilz also thought of her "team". She greeted her parents from Haag (Lower Austria) and her climbing friends from Innsbruck live on TV. A wonderful moment ...