The bouldering competition season 2023 kicked off in Chambéry, France, where a number of GB Climbing’s up and coming athletes made a huge impression at the IFSC European Cup.
Competition cobwebs were well and truly swept away as GB Climbing took the European Cup by storm, with a huge qualification round where six athletes did more than enough to take part in semi-finals.
Eugenie Lee, Zoë Peetermans, Erin McNeice, Sam Butterworth, Jack MacDougall and Joe Xiberras all made a second appearance in semis, which was exhilarating to watch. Erin was incredibly close to reaching finals due to number of attempts, and she had also just missed matching the last hold of one of the semi-final problems – this would have certainly moved her in.
Meanwhile, Jack MacDougall and Joe Xiberras went all out and had their places confirmed to participate in their first international seniors finals. An unfortunate shoulder tweak mid-round meant that Joe had to make a tough decision to withdraw from finals halfway through. It took a lot of maturity to think of the long-term picture in the heat of the moment and we’re impressed and excited to see what the rest of the season brings for Joe!
Jack was left to represent GB Climbing alone and he set to with determination. Topping the first bloc following a grim battle securing the match, Jack remained composed and continued to sweep up the zone holds and ended the round with a top on a technical vertical problem to win Bronze – Jack’s first senior medal and GB Climbing’s first medal of the season.
Rachel Carr, GB Climbing Coach, said: “GB Climbing had a great start to the year with the majority of the athletes progressing through to semi-finals round, and with two athletes making their first ever senior finals. It’s very promising for what’s to come for the rest of the year and it’s clear that the athletes have been putting the work in to now see it pay off. As always it was a pleasure to support these athletes at the competition, and myself are Liam are looking forward to do it again in a couple weeks’ time in Hachioji.”
📍 Next stop for GB Climbing: Boulder World Cup, Hachioji, Japan, 22-23 April
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