Yard sales in philadelphia
When an eight-year-old Toby Roberts joined an after-school rock climbing club, never in his wildest dreams could he imagine it would lead to the opportunity to win an Olympic gold medal.
Ten years on he will have the chance to do just that as Great Britain’s first male Olympic sport climber this summer.
Roberts secured his place at the Paris 2024 Games by winning the European qualifying event in Laval, France, having won the lead title at the Climbing World Cup last year.
“I’m so incredibly psyched, it’s what I’ve been training for for so long and I can’t wait to get out there and just enjoy it,” the 19-year-old, of Elstead, Surrey, told BBC London’s Alpa Patel.
“An Olympic gold [medal] would be amazing, my sights are set on that but I think the way I get it is by forgetting about the medal and just going and climbing.”
Parents Tristian and Marina Roberts are also keen climbers, so it was natural their son would take up the chance to try the sport out in an after-school club at Edgeborough School, in Frensham.
He became hooked and now, more than 10,000 hours on the wall later, the sport has become Roberts’ great love and taken him around the world competing.
Knowing he would be too young to enter the 2020 Games – which were delayed until 2021 because of the Covid pandemic – he began working towards winning a place at Paris 2024.
His dedication to the sport involves an intensive six-day training schedule, eight hours a day, which includes various weights routines as well as time on the wall.
There are falls, lots of them – one of which resulted in a broken ankle – but that is what keeps bringing him back.
“Each climb is completely different,” he said, speaking at Parthia Climbing Wandsworth in front of the UK’s only exact replica of ‘The Titan’ wall to be used in Paris.
“If I try something and I can’t do it, something goes off in my brain, I don’t like not completing something, so it brings me back every single time. It’s such a unique and incredible sport.”
Sport climbing at this summer’s Olympics will be divided into two events: speed climbing and combined lead climbing and bouldering.
Athletes attempt to climb a 4.5-metre wall in a limited time, and in as few attempts as possible, without ropes in the boulder event.
In the lead event, the route is 15m and is not seen by the athletes before the climb. They have six minutes to complete as much of the route as possible, and the routes increase in difficulty during the competition.
Entrants race one-on-one in a rapid sprint to the top of the wall in the speed event.
Roberts will compete in the combined lead and bouldering category.
Shauna Coxsey was Team GB’s only representative at Tokyo 2020 as she finished 10th in the qualifying event in the bouldering category, not reaching the final, while dealing with a back injury.
Roberts is hoping the added visibility the sport will get in the Olympics will increase the number of climbers in Britain.
“When you climb, you are using your whole body, all of your muscles, everything’s activating,” he said.
“It’s all-round good exercise and I think you build a lot of body strength.
“It’s a lot better than sitting on your laptop or your phone, so go out to your local climbing centre and try it for the first time.”
Roberts believes he is one of the strongest athletes going into the Games, and thinks focusing on enjoying the climb will allow him to excel and bring the gold medal home.
Regardless of the outcome, his love for the sport won’t change.
“I can’t think of a time when I wouldn’t want to climb, I don’t see myself ever getting bored of it,” he said.