Two top ten places for GB Climbing in the Boulder World Cup final in Keqiao

Three GB Climbing athletes competed for medals at the Keqiao Boulder World Cup in China. The line-up included competition favourite, Toby Roberts. Roberts, who had begun climbing in the cancelled qualifying heat on Monday, April 8, cruised through the postponed qualifying round earlier today. He was joined by debutant finalist Dayan Akhatar and seasoned World Cup competitor Max Milne, both qualifying for the round in 19th position. The men’s competition saw a program change due to bad weather conditions, which meant 20 athletes would be eligible to qualify for the finals round.

Starting off the heat strong, both Max and Toby flashed problem one. Dayan found the zone after five attempts but struggled to find the top. Boulder two seemed problematic for the GB Climbing athletes, with none of them finding the zone. On the third problem, Max pushed up onto the final hold but heartbreakingly failed to match the hold with eight seconds left on the clock.

Heading into the final boulder, Roberts needed to flash the problem to be in with a shot at the podium. Roberts showed immense finger strength as he moved into the zone on the slab. He finished the Boulder competition in fourth position. 

Finishing in ninth place, Max returns to placing in the top ten in an international competition for the first time since the Boulder World Cup in Brixen, Italy, in June 2022, where he placed 2nd. Dayan finished the competition with a personal best in 19th position.

Tomoa Narasaki and Sorato Anraku of Japan finished with gold and silver respectively and Hannes Van Duysen of Belgium took bronze.

Jon Garside, acting Head of Performance for GB Climbing, said: “This was such a strong performance from our men’s team. Having two athletes place in the top ten is a really inspiring start to the season for us, we look forward to building on these results throughout 2024.”

For full results click here

Erin McNeice, Molly Thompson-Smith, Toby Roberts, Jack MacDougall, and Max Milne now make their way to Wuijang for the IFSC Speed and Lead World Cup, where we will see the five athletes compete in the Lead competition. The qualification round takes place on Friday, April 12th.