Among the towering peaks of Georgia – a country known for rugged mountains and beautiful landscapes – Giga Jankhoteli is climbing. Georgia is rapidly becoming a hotspot for sports climbing, and Giga Jankhoteli is there for it all.
Born in Lentekhi District in 1993, Giga discovered his affinity for sport climbing as a teenager. Before graduating from Lentekhi Public School, he’d begun participating in climbing competitions throughout Georgia. Whether it was the allure of school or the chance to hone his climbing skills, Giga moved to Tbilisi to attend the Georgian Technical University, where he earned his degree in Business Engineering in 2015. Soon after the move to Tbilisi, Jankhoteli became a member of the Georgia National Team in Sport Climbing. What had begun with scaling local crags in Lentekhi grew into a full-blown passion.
His signature climbs – fast, hard, and bouldering – propelled him to national champion status and set new benchmarks for the sport in Georgia. Fast climbing, known as speed climbing, is racing another competitor to the top in the shortest time possible. Standard routes are usually 15 meters high. Hard climbing refers to technically difficult climbs requiring advanced skills and a lot more physical strength. Routes are graded on their difficulty, with grades like 5.11 to 5.12 considered hard. Bouldering is free climbing on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without ropes or harnesses. Giga Jankhoteli is a champion in all three climbing methods.
After some successes on the Georgian National Team, Jankhoteli took on a coaching role for the Georgian National Climbing Federation. Giga focused on nurturing new talents by integrating traditional climbing with new techniques: rigorous physical training with strategic mental preparation.
Giga continued to nurture his other interests beyond climbing. He has won many tournaments and participated in the World Chess Championships and World Cups. In 2020, Giga Jankhoteli joined Climb.ge as an athlete and coach. Climb.ge trains recreational climbers, but more importantly, they support climbing for professional fields, like emergency rescue and military operations that require climbing skills.
After coaching the Georgian National Climbing Federation, Giga spent 11 months in Italy training with the Italian National Team and their team coach, Stanislao Zama. His time in Italy enabled him to refine his technique and broaden his skills on different terrain. After returning to Georgia, he had a host of new techniques, training regimens, and competitive strategies for Georgian climbers.
Today, climbing is gaining more fans and participants than ever before. In 2020, climbing was included in the Tokyo Olympics for the first time. Far more Georgians than ever are giving the sport a chance, testing their limits climbing both natural rock faces and artificial climbing walls. Climbing gyms are sprouting up, and the sport is increasingly featured in local media and cultural discourse.
As the future of sports climbing continues to “climb,” Giga Jankhoteli continues to focus on reaching new talents and inspiring a new generation of climbers to strap on a harness and start climbing.
About the Author
Tim Page is a freelance writer from Minnesota transplanted overseas. He covers European sports and entertainment.
