In Switzerland yesterday, Shauna Coxsey’s dream started to come true: she won gold at the Grindelwald round of the 2014 IFSC Bouldering World Cup. After three rounds of an eight round series, she is now ranked first in the world.
Last weekend it was all about the dab: in Baku, Azerbaijan, brushing the mat with her foot cost Shauna first place. This weekend, it was simply about dreams finally starting to come true: after multiple silver medals over two years, Shauna Coxsey finally tasted gold.
In Grindelwald, the women’s competition was electric until the end, with Anna Stöhr (AUT) and Shauna battling it out to the last boulder. In the end, Coxsey edged out Stöhr and took gold with four tops in 10 attempts, two fewer than Stöhr. Germany’s Jule Wurm took bronze with three tops. Despite not topping any of the boulders in the finals, Switzerland’s Rebekka Stotz proudly defended her home turf in Grindelwald.
After three of the eight rounds in 2014, Shauna is now ranked first, and the series culminates in Laval, France on 27-28 June. She will also be competing in the IFSC World Championships, a standalone event held in Munich, 21-23 August.
Rob Adie, BMC competitions offer said: “It’s fantastic news. Shauna has been on the brink of winning a round for some time, and now that she’s won one, I feel she could dominate the circuit this year and take the overall title. Who knows, maybe she can do the double and be overall World Cup Champion and World Champion in the same year!
“This is a great result for the GB Climbing Team as whole too, especially with all the funding challenges they had at the beginning of the season. Hopefully this will boost the whole team to achieve great things at the next few events – and perhaps even attract new sponsors.”
Shauna is one of seven ambassadors for the BMC.
What did it feel like to win? We interview Shauna
Shauna and fellow competitor Mina Leslie-Wujastyk are currently travelling to Innsbruck, Austria for the next round of the series. We tracked them down and asked Mina to interview Shauna:~
Mina: You got gold! After being so close so many times, how did it feel when it actually happened?
Shauna: I still can’t believe it. I’m pretty overwhelmed, I guess. It’s amazing.
Mina: After what happened in Baku, did you feel more determined than ever to finish on top?
Shauna: Not so much. With the season so busy this year, you can’t spend much time processing the comps. As soon as one is over, you have to get focused on the next one.
Mina: It seems really friendly amongst the top girls, does this help or does it sometimes hinder performance?
Shauna: It really is. I don’t think it hinders performance at all. We are all really supportive of each other and it makes the events so much fun.
Mina: So, you are no stranger to standing on the podium but what was it like standing on top and hearing the British national anthem play? Emotional?
Shauna: Surreal! I was still so shocked.
Mina: Lastly, how are you feeling about Innsbruck, ready to try and do the same again?
Shauna: Definitely. I am so excited, Innsbruck always put on an amazing event.
Who are our previous Bouldering World Cup winners?
Shauna now joins a very select, and very powerful, club: British winners of Bouldering World Cups. There are three previous winners, all men: Andy Earl (La Reunion, May 2007), Mark Croxall (Birmingham, March 2005) and Malcolm Smith (Lecco, Italy, 2002). The highest previous placing of any British woman was, of course, Shauna herself: second in multiple world cups over the last two seasons, most recently in Chongqing China.
Don't miss the next stop: Innsbruck
The fourth round of the 2014 Boulder World Cup will be held this weekend (May 16-17) at Innsbruck, Austria. The finals will be streamed live on Red Bull TV, and the feed will also be embedded on www.ifsc-climbing.org.
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