The first qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics took place in the sport of Sport Climbing Boulder and Lead, which has one event each for men and women. The first three places for both events was decided at the IFSC World Climbing Championships (Boulder & Lead) in Bern, Switzerland (1-12 August 2023).
The event was held at the PostFinance Arena, which has been used by Swiss top-tier ice hockey side and sixteen-time national champions SC Bern since 1967.
Five Brits entered on the men’s side. Jack MacDougall had recently gotten his first senior medal in the European Boulder Cup, while Hamish McArthur was a 2021 World bronze medalist in the Lead category. Maximillian Milne had some World Cup medals to his name, while James Pope was an experienced performer. Toby Roberts also had two World Cup golds to his name.
The top twenty would go through from qualification, and Roberts led the way of the Brits in thirteenth with a 550.0 (170 on the Boulder and 380 on the Lead). This was enough to beat France’s Manuel Cornu, in 21st, who posted a 240.0. The other Brits didn’t advance, with MacDougall’s 224.0 enough for 22nd: after an impressive 220 on the Boulder, he only managed four points on the lead. McArthur’s 94.0 (64/30) put him 35th, Pope’s 46.0 (6.5/39.5) was enough for 41st, and Milne’s 21.5 (11.5/10) enough for 49th. The man on the brink was the United States’ Colin Duffy on 280.5.
In the semis, twenty would become eight, but Roberts put up a 164.7, with a decent 64.7 in the boulder followed by a perfect 100 in the lead to go second, way ahead of Frenchman Mejdi Schlack in ninth on 125.9
So to the final, where Roberts improved his bouldering to 79.3 with 3T3hz4lz 9 5 5 (hitting the most tops overall, but five of them in his second go). This though was a bit off the pace with the rest of the field, and a 64.1 in the lead just put his score to 149.1, enough for fifth, but behind the 156.7 of Japan’s Tomoa Narasaki that was necessary for a medal.
On the women’s side, a smaller team of two went to Bern, with youngster Erin McNeice making her World Championship debut, and Molly Thompson-Smith has a World Cup medal to her name. A 185 bouldering and 380 with the lead gave Thompson-Smith a total of 565.0 in the qualifiers, enough for eleventh ahead of France’s Hélène Janicot and the Korea Republic’s Seo Yejoo in joint twentieth on 248.4 (both qualified). McNeice managed 35th with 73.66 (68.0/5.66).
Bouldering was a struggle for most in the semifinal, and for Thompson-Smith there was no exception, with a score of 24.6. 54.1 in the Lead was enough for 78.7 and twelfth, not enough to beat South Korean Kim Jain’s 91.1 in eighth.
The next chance would come in the European Continental Qualifier, in Laval (France) from 26-29 October 2023.
GB Games 