Mariana Janošová: The 2025 season through the eyes of a national team player

The 2025 competition season is behind me, so I would like to take you behind the scenes of my year as a representative in lead climbing.

My name is Mariana Janošová, and I have been an ambassador for the Tendon brand for five years. I have also been representing the Czech Republic in sport climbing for the same amount of time. At the beginning of my competitive career, I devoted myself to both disciplines – bouldering and lead climbing. Last year, however, I decided to focus primarily on lead climbing. The reason was not only an ankle injury that practically prevented me from bouldering last season, but also the fact that lead climbing has always been closer to my heart.

I am a multiple Czechia champion in the youth categories, and I won a medal in my very first year among the adults. Among my greatest competitive achievements, I would rank 2nd place in the European Youth Cup and 6th place in the European Youth Championship finals. However, I don't just climb in competitions – I also regularly climb rocks all over the world. I have managed to climb a route with a difficulty of 8b three times and I have also completed several 8a onsight climbs.

Start of the season and first successes
This season was quite bittersweet for me overall. It started with the Czech Cup bouldering competitions and nomination competitions, which I approached more as training – as an opportunity to really "get into the swing of things" after the winter. This year, the nominations were held outside the Czech Cup, and it was necessary to register for them separately.

This was followed by the Czech Cup at BigWall, where I managed to win both in my U19 category and among the adults. Thanks to this, I successfully qualified for both the youth national team and the European adult national team.

European Cups and bad luck that stuck with meThe international season kicked off with the European Cup in Campitello di Fassa, Italy. Unfortunately, I felt sick the morning before the qualification and, after a rather shaky performance, I finished just below the qualifying line – in second place below the semifinals. This was immediately followed by another European Cup in Ostermundigen, Switzerland, where the result was almost identical, and I again finished in the first non-qualifying place. Bad luck clung to me like glue.

The season then moved back to youth competitions, again in Italy – this time in Bologna. For me, it was perhaps an even worse competition, where one slip of the foot cost me a place in the final. This was followed by the Youth World Championships in Finland, where for the first time in my entire career I didn't even make it to the semifinals. That knocked me down mentally, and I started to think that maybe it just wasn't "my" season.

A mental reset: rocks, Innsbruck, and a return to form
After Finland, I took a week's break on the rocks – and where else but back to Italy. I didn't climb my projects in Arco, but I mainly took a mental break from the constant stress of competing. Immediately afterwards, I went to train in Innsbruck, where I really enjoyed the training and managed to get back into shape.

European Championships in Žilina: the turning point of the seasonOne of the most important stops of the season was the European Youth Championships in Žilina. The La Skala wall is almost like home to me—or rather, like a weekend getaway—and that's exactly how I felt there. I finally made it to the semifinals and, after an excellent performance, even to the finals. This competition reminded me once again that I can enjoy competitions and gave me tremendous motivation for the rest of the season.

A fast-paced end to the season
The European Youth Cups continued in Imst, Austria. Then I quickly moved back to the Czech Republic – first to the Czech Bouldering Championships in Prague and then to the Czech Cup in Zlín, where I won both the U19 and adult categories again.

The last international competition of the season awaited me in Toulouse, France, where, despite an unsuccessful qualification, I managed to fight my way to the finals.

The very last stop was the Czech Republic Championship in difficulty in Brno. Unfortunately, I messed up the semifinal route, which cost me the victory in my category. Among the adults, I ended up in the unpopular fourth place.

Rocks at the end and thanks
At the end of the season, however, I made up for everything with a good dose of rock climbing – two weeks in Margalef and three weeks in Geyikbayiri, Turkey.

Managing training and competitions at the highest level alongside studying at high school is definitely not for the faint-hearted. But this year, I managed to successfully combine everything once again. Of course, this would not have been possible without the support of my sponsors and, above all, my parents and closest friends, to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude.

Photos: Kety Idody, Jan Štípek, Sylva Koudelková