The Race for the Podium: Oceania Mackenzie and Oriane Bertone Disrupt the Women's Combined Standings

The 2026 World Climbing Series has reached its midpoint, and while the top of the leaderboard looks familiar, the race behind it has erupted into a generational battle. Slovenia's Janja Garnbret continues to dominate the Women's Combined Standings, but a historic surge from Australia's Oceania Mackenzie and France's Oriane Bertone has blown the podium race wide open.[1][3]

The Combined format—which merges the explosive power of Boulder with the grueling endurance of Lead—is the sport's ultimate proving ground and the official Olympic standard. For years, the gap between Garnbret and the rest of the field seemed insurmountable. Now, Mackenzie and Bertone are proving that the chasing pack has finally arrived with the consistency required to challenge for the overall crown.[2][4]

No athlete has disrupted the 2026 standings quite like Oceania Mackenzie. The 23-year-old Victorian made history in May, claiming Australia's first-ever World Climbing Series gold medal at the Boulder event in Bern, a monumental achievement for a region traditionally underrepresented on the global climbing stage.[1][2]

Mackenzie's victory in Switzerland was a masterclass in composure. In a tense final overshadowed by a pre-event route leak, she was the only climber to top the opening boulder. On the final problem, Mackenzie secured the top almost nonchalantly during a beta break, finishing with an unbeatable 74.5 points to fend off the United States' Annie Sanders.[1]

The gold medal was the culmination of years of steady progress. Mackenzie, who made her Olympic debut at 19 in Tokyo, followed up her Bern victory with a hard-fought bronze in Keqiao, cementing her place in the top four of the overall Combined standings and proving she is no longer just a finalist, but a consistent podium threat.[2]

While Mackenzie represents a breakthrough for the Southern Hemisphere, France's Oriane Bertone is fulfilling a destiny written when she was a child prodigy. Currently sitting in second place in the Combined standings, the 21-year-old has been in the form of her life, balancing raw physical power with newfound tactical maturity.[4][5]

Bertone's 2026 campaign began with a statement victory at the inaugural Pro Climbing League Championship in London. In a head-to-head final against Garnbret, Bertone flashed a dynamic, foot-cutting problem to take the win, proving she possesses the explosive strength to beat the sport's greatest athlete on any given day.[6]

That power was forged on real rock. Just weeks before the World Cup season kicked into high gear, Bertone made short work of two 8B+ boulders—Kheops and Gecko assis—in the legendary forests of Fontainebleau. She became the first woman to ascend Gecko assis, translating that elite outdoor strength directly to the competition mats.[5]

The battle for the Combined podium is now a game of razor-thin margins. Bertone narrowly edged out Great Britain's Erin McNeice by just 0.1 points in the Madrid semi-finals, while Mackenzie has consistently found the zone holds when it matters most to keep her points tally high across multiple events.[1][3]

As the circuit shifts heavily toward the Lead discipline in the back half of the season, the endurance specialists will make their move. USA's Brooke Raboutou and Natalia Grossman are lurking just behind Mackenzie and Bertone, setting the stage for a dramatic finale in Santiago this October.[3][4]