Once again Toby Roberts makes history as he claims his first Lead World Cup gold medal in Chamonix, France and becomes the first British athlete to win a gold medal in both the Lead and Boulder disciplines.
The best competition climbers in the world gathered for the next stop of the IFSC World Cup tour which included another packed squad of GB Climbing athletes. First up was the Speed discipline, where GB Climbing athletes Rafe Stokes and Matt Fall limbered up for an explosive performance. Rafe kept up his consistency with yet another sub-six second time of 5.96 seconds which placed him 45th, and Matt was hot on his heels racking up a time of 6.39 seconds to place 57th.
Next it was time for the endurance athletes to get roped up for Lead. In the women’s field we saw impressive performances from Erin McNeice and Zoë Peetermans, who finished in 49th and 55th, respectively. Despite not feeling like she was climbing at her best, Molly Thompson-Smith made it through to the semi-final round where she climbed valiantly to finish in 12th place, just a few spots away from making the final.
In the men’s field we had four GB Climbing athletes competing and we saw great efforts from Hamish McArthur who finished in 32nd, Jim Pope who was close behind in 34th, and Joe Xiberras who placed 64th. Meanwhile all eyes were on Toby Roberts who soared through qualification in joint first place after topping both routes. The next day anticipation ramped as Toby stepped up to the semi-final route and we were not disappointed as he came off just a few holds away from the top and qualified for the final in joint first place alongside Japanese athlete Soratu Anraku.
The finals rolled up and Toby Roberts continued to climb near perfectly, cruising through to the upper section. As Toby approached the top, he turned to amp up the crowd and they cheered him on to clip the final quickdraw and win the gold medal emphatically as the only athlete to top the route.
Toby Roberts is now the only British athlete to win a gold medal in both a Lead and Boulder World Cup. We’d like to wish Toby a huge congratulations, with qualification for the Olympic Games nearing we can’t wait to see what this rising star can bring.
Speaking to the IFSC, Toby Roberts said: “It’s absolutely incredible I’m a bit lost for words right now. I’m still incredibly pumped and my heart is going. There are no words. The crowd were incredible and it felt so surreal up there.
“For me Lead has always been extra special. I really enjoy the aspect of fighting and giving your absolute maximum and hearing the crowd get behind you when you give everything.”
Results IFSC World Cup Chamonix 2023:
Lead
Women
Men
Speed
Men
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