Toby Roberts won Olympic gold medals in bouldering and lead climbing, earning Great Britain’s first climbing medals.
Roberts finished the bouldering portion of the competition in Paris in third place behind Anraku Sorato of Japan, who was led by Colin Duffy of the United States with 69.3 points. After the competition was over, Hamish McArthur of Great Britain was in fourth place.
Roberts, who was leading with 92.1 points, won the gold medal with 155.2 points, but Anraku was the only one left to climb. The Japanese climber fell before reaching the required number of points, giving Roberts the victory.
With a lead of 92.1 points, Roberts, who scored 155.2 points, had a chance at the gold medal. Only Anraku had yet to climb. The Japanese climber fell before reaching the required number of points, giving Roberts the victory.
The 19-year-old from Surrey hardly believed his victory, and only realised it when his rivals failed to hold him off as they had hoped. Anraku, still only 17, came into the competition as the favourite to win, and qualified with the most points, beating Roberts in the semi-finals.
The teenager won the silver medal with 145.4 points, while Jakob Schubert of Austria took the bronze with 139.6 points. British climber MacArthur held on to the medal position until Roberts’s ascent, eventually finishing in fifth place with 125.9 points.
“I’m just lost for words,” Roberts said after the competition. “Knowing I’d won the gold medal at that moment was just incredible.”
“I’ve been training for this moment my whole life,” he added. “It’s safe to say it doesn’t dawn on me yet. It’s a goal I’ve been training for 10 years. It’s unbelievable.”
Roberts’ efforts show the success of a plan he made at the age of 12 to reach Paris in 2024. Last year, the climber revealed that his family made plans when it was announced that climbing would be added to the Olympic Games from 2020.
“I was about 12 years old when it was announced that climbing would be included as an Olympic event in 2020,” he said. “That’s when my family and I decided to give it all we’ve got to qualify for Paris 2024. We made a six-year plan, with milestones we needed to achieve to get to where we are now.
“You had to be in the GB team by a certain age to compete in the Europeans and World Championships, so this qualifying event gave me a bit of experience.” There wasn’t much breathing room. If I had missed any of the milestones, maybe someone else would have had a chance.”
The gold medal means GB have won 14 medals in Paris, for a total of 52, putting them fifth in the overall rankings behind hosts France.
The USA leads the way with 30 gold medals and 103 total medals, while China is tied for first place but only in second place with 74 medals. Australia is currently in third place with 18 gold medals.
Discovery+ is the new home of the Olympic Games. The streamer will broadcast 3,800 hours of live sport from Paris.
Sports fans can watch Discovery+ through Amazon Prime’s video channels until the end of 2024 for £3.99 a month. This also includes a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime.
