The Austrian claimed her fourth Duel title at the historic Italian competition, which was celebrating its 40th anniversary.
A slip in the wave, and the duel turns
The Lead Duel final set Pilz against defending champion Brooke Raboutou of the United States. The two moved together through much of the route before the decisive moment arrived in the wave section. Raboutou's left toehook slipped, and Pilz pushed on to finish the climb first.
Raboutou had looked sharp, setting the fastest qualifying time before the final, but one mistake was all it took.
Second-try top seals the double
Two nights later, the KO Boulder opened without Raboutou and Aleksandra Totkova, both withdrawn through injury. Pilz worked through the rounds as Hana Koike, Anna Maria Apel and Lučka Rakovec advanced strongly. She found her rhythm in the second round, and by the third only Rakovec, Koike and Pilz remained.
The final boulder refused all three finalists on the first attempt. Pilz read the problem fastest, placed both hands on the top on her second try, and the Climbing Stadium crowd lifted the decibels to the limit. Rakovec took second, Koike third.
A record built across five years
Pilz's four Rock Master Duel titles — 2021, 2022, 2024 and now 2026 — place her among the most decorated women in the event's history. Only Angela Eiter, with five titles between 2003 and 2009, has won more. The Rock Master Hall of Fame, stretching back to 1987, carries the names of Muriel Sarkany, Eiter and the other greats who built the competition's legend.
The double came at the fortieth-anniversary edition, a week that also saw Adam Ondra lose the men's Lead Duel to Filip Schenk before reversing the result in the KO Boulder.
