Paris Olympics - Part 2: GB Climbing Olympians

• Wednesday 31st July 2024

Showtime approaches for GB climbing Olympians Toby Roberts, Hamish MacArthur, Erin McNiece and Molly Thompson Smith.

Along with Japan, USA and the host nation France, GB Climbing is one of only four countries to have qualified the maximium quota of four athletes to contest the Boulder & Lead Combined event at the Paris Games. In itself that speaks to the quality and strength in depth of the current GB squad and to the dedication and efforts of all concerned including the coaches and support as well as the athletes themselves. We profile each of the four athletes below outlining their qualification route as well as some of their most notable achievements.

Toby Roberts

A strong “age-group” climber since he began climbing, Toby rocketed through the grades outside becoming the youngest British climber to climb F8a (Raindogs), F8b (Revelations) and then F9a (Rainshadow) and F9a+ (Batman). Since then, he’s turning his attention more towards the international competition scene where he has quickly established himself as one of the bright lights of the new generation of climbers.

Bursting onto the Senior circuit aged just 17, Toby won a bronze in Lead at the Edinburgh World Cup back in September 2022. At a stroke, Toby’s medal at that event ended GB’s 28-year hiatus for British men without any podium finishes in World Cup competitions. Since then, Toby has cemented his place on the international stage with further bronze medals in both Lead and Boulder. However, it’s Toby’s three gold medals – one in Boulder (Brixen 2023) and two in Lead (Chamonix 2023 and Wujiang 2024) – that show what Toby’s potential is. No one will ever forget his outstanding gutsy determination at Brixen to get the job done. Climbing last, Toby clung on and fought his way to the top of the final boulder to take his – and GB’s – first-ever male Boulder Gold.

Equally impressive was Toby’s Lead performance at Chamonix – also in 2023 – not least when he paused a few moves down from the finish to amp up the crowd in what was both an epic and classic display of sheer endurance as he went on to take his second IFSC Gold. Finally, it seemed, GB could dare to believe again; Toby has the potential to “go all the way” in climbing competitions!

Remarkably for such a young and relatively inexperienced international competitor, Toby finished in fifth place at the 2023 World Championships in Bern marginally behind the other outstanding young gun – Sorato Anraku. In that instance, the older and more experienced players, Jakob Schubert, Colin Duffy and Tomoa Narasaki, were able to (just) keep the young guns off the top spots and secure the first three of the 20 qualification places for Paris. However, and putting the disappointment of Bern behind him, Toby returned shortly afterwards to win the European Qualification event in Laval and secure not only his qualification spot for the Paris Games but what is undoubtedly a justifiably high seeding along with it.

Hamish McArthur

A former World Youth Champion, Hamish transitioned onto the Senior circuit and immediately impressed when he took a bronze medal in his first-ever Senior World Championships in 2021.

Although Hamish is perhaps best known for his competition climbing he’s absolutely no slouch on rock either having flashed Bulbhaul (Font 8A+/8B) at Almscliffe in 2021 and made an early and rapid repeat of Hunger (F9a) at Anvil, Loch Goil in 2022.

Having had a strong start to his senior career it was to take Hamish some time before he could once again replicate that form – fortunately for Hamish, in the run-in to the Paris Games. Having recovered from an injury it was in May of this year at the Shanghai round of the Olympic Qualification Series (OQS) that Hamish signalled his return to the fore when he finished that event in seventh place thus setting himself up in an excellent position to qualify for Paris prior to the final OQS event in Budapest. Despite his best endeavours, Hamish didn’t make the finals in Budapest but when his OQS results were calculated Hamish finished in ninth place overall and so qualified for Paris to compete alongside Team mate Toby Roberts.

Erin McNiece

Whilst Erin McNiece – a.k.a. Erin McBeast - is without a doubt the newbie on the circuit but make no mistake, she has both talent and hunger driving her trajectory ever upwards! Although she didn’t podium on the Youth circuit, Erin has been both the British Boulder and double Lead Champion in the recent past as well as winning a variety of other domestic competitions such as the Climbing Works International Competition (CWIF).

Despite Erin’s lack of metalwork at Youth level her first forays onto the Senior international circuit have been very impressive. Qualifying for the OQS in 2023 she came out of the traps on a roll in April of this year when she made her first-ever Lead final in the IFSC World Cup in Wujiang, China; impressively Erin finished in an excellent fifth place ahead of renowned Lead specialist Laura Rogora.

Fast forward to the first of the two OQS events in Shanghai in May and Erin really went pedal to the metal and came away with her first-ever international podium when she collected a Bronze medal for her efforts in the Combined Boulder and Lead. Even more impressively Erin replicated that feat at the second OQS in Budapest in June finishing that in third place also. The maths was very, very simple; she’d finished the OQS in third place and easily qualified for the Paris Games.

Erin, a quiet person by her own admission, has undoubtedly caused a stir amongst the female competitors given that her rounded Boulder and Lead capabilities are equally impressive. She’ll be going all guns blazing at Paris for sure and could well upset a few apple carts along the way.

Molly Thompson-Smith

Molly T-S is a total rock and her journey to the Olympics is little short of a Herculean epic of monumental proportions!

From her early beginnings, Molly has developed into one of GB’s most accomplished sport and competition climbers winning IFSC Lead medals and ticking off the grades outdoors too. In 2018 she redpointed her first F8c with La Fabelita (F8c) at Santa Linya in Spain before becoming the first British woman to onsight an F8b with Odysseus at Götterwandl, Austria in 2020. Recently, Molly has repeated numerous Font 8B’s as well as ticking off brick-hard classic indoor board problems such as Milk It (Font 8B) at the famous School Room in Sheffield.

Switching from the Youth to the Senior circuit Molly won Bronze at the IFSC World Cup Lead event in Kranj back in 2017; that was GB’s first ever Lead medal by a woman. Then came the qualification process for Tokyo in which Molly had to diversify on her Lead specialism adding both Boulder and Speed into the mix. Her Olympic preparations took a massive hit when she ruptured multiple finger pulleys in a finger which required reconstructive surgery in January 2018. Molly however was soon back in the game and came within an ace of qualifying for Tokyo when she finished in 3^rd place in the Lead at the Covid-delayed European Championships in Moscow in 2010 but (sadly) eighth place overall.

With classic Olympian-style determination, Molly continued with her preparations for the Paris qualification; this time having eliminated Speed she was able to focus more on Lead and Boulder. However, in September 2022 disaster struck again and Molly fractured her right ankle in an outdoor bouldering incident. Following another surgery, Molly was once again back on the rehab route hoping to be fit enough to compete during 2023. Fast forward to the Bern World Championships in August 2023 and Molly’s very encouraging results suggested she was back fit and well again and as hungry as ever for that elusive Olympic slot.

Finally, Molly’s Olympic dream came true when she qualified for Paris having finished the OQS Series in 13th overall but took the crucial 12th and final qualification place after Fataba Ito was eliminated from the rankings given that two other Japanese team members had already qualified.

Molly’s story is that of a pure classic Olympic dream; the ultimate opportunity to perform alongside the world’s best sport climbers something which Molly – having already competed in Senior International competitions for over a decade – will drive her forward to the very end.

You can read a Q and A with Molly about the Olympics here