GB win six medals at Paraclimbing World Championships 2021

After an absence of two years due to the global pandemic, we were excited to watch 13 of our own athletes join a total of 117 athletes from 20 different countries to represent the GB Paraclimbing Team at the IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships in Moscow, Russia, last week.

Our team of 13 climbers made the trip and underwent new classification, as this year the IFSC moved to be in line with International Paralympic Committee (IPC) rules regarding classification in a bid to help the IFSC achieve the goal of Paraclimbing being included in the Paralympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

The team put in a sterling performance right from the start. Qualification took place over two days and we saw near misses for finals for Isabella Walsh and Anita Aggarwal. Strong performances were also made by James Rudge, Stuart Sneddon, Lux Losey Sail and Joanna Newton. Laurence Morgan finished seventh in the RP1 category, a fantastic achievement at his very first Paraclimbing World Championships and first international competition.

Six athletes made it through qualifications to compete at the final and huge congratulations to Lux Losey Sail for his overall third place in the B3 Masters event. A very close round meant no room for error and Lux fought hard to come away in third.

On Friday the Paraclimbing World Championship finals took place and six GB athletes took to the spectacular stage at the Viner-Usmanova Arena in Moscow. The team put in a mind-blowing performance on the technical, winding routes where every athlete gained a medal. Jesse Dufton claimed third place in the B1 category, an improvement from fourth at his last World Championships. Richard Slocock claimed a silver medal, followed by Leanora Volpe and Martha Evans. Both Abbie Robinson and Matthew Phillips claimed gold in their respective categories becoming World Champions, both earning the title for their third consecutive time.

RESULTS: GB Paraclimbing Team

🥉 3rd Jesse Dufton (B1)

🥇 1st Abigail Robinson (B2)

🥈 2nd Richard Slocock (B2)

🥈 2nd Martha Evans (RP3)

🥈 2nd Leanora Volpe (RP2)

🥇 1st Matthew Phillips (AU2)

After such a long time away from elite competition, it was hard to predict what the outcome would be. The GB Paraclimbing Team continue to impress us with their hard work, talent, and dedication to perform and it really did show here on the international stage. We are so proud of all the athletes.

Zoe Spriggins, Competition Programme Manager, has been out supporting the team. Here's what Zoe has to say after a brilliant week:

“Fantastic effort from the whole team! It has been such a privilege to be here and watch the team perform after such a long break. Superb organisation from the IFSC and Russia Climbing, and we’d like to say a huge thank you to all the athletes, support personnel and everyone cheering us on back home!”