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There may still be one year to go until the Opening Ceremony of Paris 2024 - but there are only a few days until Australian sport climbers have their first opportunity to qualify for the Games.

The IFSC Climbing World Championships will take place in Bern from 1-12 August, with Australian climbers taking to the walls in every event and category. The top three athletes per gender in Lead/Boulder and the top two athletes per gender in Speed will earn a quota by name for Paris 2024.

Tokyo 2020 Olympian Oceana Mackenzie has had a very strong 2023 World Cup season, with a personal best finish of 5th place in Boulder at Brixen and an overall 7th place world ranking for the discipline. With the Lead season still underway, Oceana has already achieved a personal best in Briançon with a 10th place finish and is positioning herself as a serious contender to secure a Lead/Boulder quota place in the women's field at Bern.

Image: Arthur Delicque

Melbourne climber Campbell Harrison has also had a strong season, qualifying for his third World Cup semi-finals in Briançon where he finished 26th. "In the lead up to this year's World Cup season, I was feeling the strongest I think I've ever felt. I knew that if I climbed well, I could have some promising results. In Briançon, other than making sure my score was correct, I didn't look at the leaderboard at all until I was finished climbing both routes. Making Lead Semi-Finals again was the culmination of a whole lot of hard work and perseverance, and I'm really proud of this achievement!"

Image: Victor Lami

Other Australians to watch out for in Bern include Max Pare, Aiden Yanev, Dylan Parks and Dylan Soin in the Lead and/or Boulder events, as well as Hayden Barton, Aaron Mattes and Grace Crowley in Speed. Australian paraclimbers Sarah Larcombe, Araminta McLennan, Jessie Bayiartkias and Michael Tarulli will also take to the walls for their events in the second week of competition. The whole team will be supported by Alex MacInnes (National Team Coach) and Katie Kaminski (National Team Physiotherapist).

Image: Bryana Robles

With only two Lead World Cup events to follow the World Championships, most athletes will soon head home to prepare for the IFSC Oceania Qualification Event. The event will be held at Urban Climb in Melbourne from 24-26 November, with one quota spot per event on offer (four in total).

Dylan Parks and Dylan Soin will both also compete at the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships in South Korea from 19-27 August.

Keep up with all the Australian Climbing Team news on Instagram at @ausclimbing.

Melbourne will host the International Federation of Sport Climbing Oceania Qualifier 2023 – a qualification event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, from 24 – 26 November this year.

Located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Urban Climb Blackburn will welcome climbers from the Oceania region in the Speed and Boulder & Lead disciplines for both men and women with Olympic qualification at stake.

There will be four Paris 2024 spots available including, one men’s Speed, one women’s Speed, one men’s Boulder & Lead and one women’s Boulder & Lead.

As an important qualifier, Melbourne was chosen as the ideal spot to host the event with its rich Olympic history as the first hosts of an Olympic Games staged in the Southern hemisphere in 1956.

IFSC President Marco Scolaris said: “Melbourne is a perfect city to host such an important event for the region and on the road to Paris. It will be the second time that Australia has been part of our Olympic journey, and in cities with great historic links to the Games.

“From the first Oceania qualifier for Tokyo 2020 in Sydney, and now Melbourne for Paris 2024, Australia has been with us every step of our Olympic journey so far. I look forward to an exciting event with our friends at Sport Climbing Australia and welcoming more athlete’s that will join us at our second Olympic competition.”

The event will be part funded by the IFSC and the Victorian Government, through the Significant Sporting Events Program which supports organisations to deliver national, international or regionally significant events. 

The IFSC Oceania Qualifier 2023 will be one of a series of five standalone continental Olympic qualification events from which athletes gaining qualification will join climbers who have already secured their place at the summer showpiece from the IFSC Climbing World Championships Bern 2023. 

Article first posted by IFSC.

The first half of the 2023 IFSC Lead World Cup Series has seen Australian climbers take to competition walls in Innsbruck, Villars and Chamonix.

Photo credit: @samm_pratt

Oceana Mackenzie, Maya Stasiuk, Dylan Parks and Max Pare competed at the first lead event of the season in Innsbruck last month. While it was a quick change of pace and endurance strategy for those who competed in the bouldering events just days earlier, this didn't stop any of the climbers from achieving outstanding results. Oceana finished 37th and Maya finished 72nd, with Dylan and Max finishing 73rd and 98th respectively in the men's field.

Photo credit: @lami.victor

Australia's only Lead World Cup climber in Villars was Emily Scott, who competed in Boulder World Cup events in Japan and South Korea earlier in the year.  The 17 year old finished in 72nd place, which she backed up the following week with a 79th place in Chamonix. When reflecting on her season, Emily says "there is always room for improvement, but coming off Villars I was happy with how I was climbing and felt ready for Chamonix. I couldn't quite find my flow on the first climb but felt like I climbed better on the next one. I'm proud of going out and really enjoying my second climb because at big points it's so easy to forget to enjoy the climbs."

Photo credit: @lami.victor

Oceana Mackenzie, Campbell Harrison and Dylan Soin also competed in Chamonix, with the event being the first of the season for both male athletes. The location had special meaning for Campbell, who competed in his first ever Lead World Cup back in 2016 at Chamonix with the iconic Mount Blanc backdrop. Speaking before the competition, Campbell said "I'm definitely a little nervous, but for the most part my preparation has gone well and I'm feeling good on the wall during training. I'm not attending quite as many comps this year as I normally would with the Oceania Olympic Selection taking place so late in the year. The goal for these coming events is to test my shape, see where I'm at right now, and learn what I need to do in order to be ready for the next one." Dylan had a similar mindset, saying "I have been training hard all winter, and I’m looking forward to giving it everything I have with the rest of the Australian team. The wall looks amazing and the backdrop and atmosphere makes for a perfect start to my season."

Photo credit: @janvirtphotography / IFSC

Both male athletes put in strong performances, with Campbell finishing in 41st and Dylan in 73rd. Oceana made it through to her first lead semi-finals since the 2018 Lead World Cup in Xiamen and finished an impressive 23rd place in the women's field. Campbell and Oceana both have their eyes on the next Lead World Cup event in Briancon, where they will be joined by Western Australian climber Aiden Yanev. This will be the last competition before the World Championships in Bern, where the first Olympic quota places are on offer to qualify for Paris 2024.

Keep up with all the Australian Climbing Team news on Instagram at @ausclimbing.

Oceana Mackenzie is the first Australian athlete to achieve a top ten world ranking in sport climbing - and she's not stopping any time soon.

Photo credit: @vladek_zumr

After a demanding World Cup Boulder series spanning Hachioji, Seoul, Salt Lake City, Prague, Brixen and Innsbruck, Oceana finished ranked seventh. "Honestly it feels amazing to be 7th in the world for boulder this year, but mostly I'm just proud of the progress and confidence I've gained. I'm always more focused on how I felt through each comp rather than the number it gives me (although that's just an added bonus)".

Oceana's best performance was in Brixen, where she qualified for finals to finish in an impressive fifth place. In terms of her strategy, she says that "I learnt new things after every event, so before every comp I change something slightly. My biggest focus after the first World Cup (which didn't go so well for me) was trying to be more confident and getting into my "comp" mindset."

The World Cup Lead series has well and truly now kicked off, with Oceana already improving on her 37th place in Innsbruck to qualify for semi-finals and finish 23rd in Chamonix. 

Photo credit: @lami.victor

Other Australians competing on the lead wall in Chamonix include Campbell Harrison (41st), Dylan Soin (73rd) and Emily Scott (79th). Grace Crowley and Chad Horton were both in action on the speed wall, recording times of 9.03 and 7.02 to finish 39th and 62nd respectively. 

After representing Australia in sport climbing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Oceana has her sights firmly set on qualifying for Paris 2024 and living the Olympic dream a second time. "I'm feeling excited, it's always cool to see the sport I love gaining more recognition. There are multiple selection events, but the one I'm most focused on is the Oceania Championships in November. But for now, all eyes are on the World Cups".  

Photo credit: @vladek_zumr

The WattleNest welcomed para climber Sarah Larcombe into the studio recently to discuss her achievements on the World Cup Circuit and the importance of inclusivity on the climbing wall.

Photo credit: @xsloba

Listen to the interview with Rachel Condos-Fields and Nana Owusu-Afriyie here. Sarah had an outstanding World Cup series for 2023 with silver medals in the AL2 category in Salt Lake City, Innsbruck and Villars, but Sarah's focus is on continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible in sport climbing - 'I know what I want to improve and I'll work as hard as I can to make that happen'. 

Photo credit: @lenadrapella

Sport Climbing Australia is pleased to announce Andrew Chen, Irene Torrealba, Alex MacInnes and Khosro Hashemzadeh as the new National Coaching Team.

Having previously held the role of National Assistant Team Coach last year, Andrew Chen has stepped into the role of the Coaching Team Manager. He says he is excited about "the breadth of skills and experience in the team this year, as well as the combined total outreach. It feels like we're turning a fresh leaf and stepping into a new chapter for Australian climbing".

Irene Torrealba and Alex MacInnes both hold ASCA Strength and Conditioning accreditations and have multi-sport experience in State Institute environments. They are excited to drive athlete wellbeing and climbing performance through evidence based practise, with their individual passions lying in the areas of neurobiology and physical preparation. Having previously competed at IFSC World Cup Events for Iran, Khosro Hashemzadeh brings valuable insight and International competition experience to complete the new team of coaches.

The National Coaching Team recently hosted an online Oceania Olympic Qualifier information session to support athletes focused on Paris 2024. With only two climbing events on offer at the Olympics (combined Boulder/Lead and Speed), the pressure is on for athletes to be climbing at their best when it counts. The top competitors at the August World Championships in Switzerland will automatically qualify, with three Boulder/Lead and two Speed quotas available per gender. The next opportunity (and the only one on home soil) for Australian climbers to qualify for the Games is the IFSC Oceania Qualification Event in November.

Andrew, Irene, Alex and Khosro will work closely with the National Team Physiotherapist Katie Kaminsky to support athletes in training and to perform at their best in competitions. The next IFSC World Cup event will take place in Chamonix in early July, featuring Oceana Mackenzie, Emily Scott and Campbell Harrison in Lead and Grace Crowley, Chad Horton and Hayden Barton in Speed.

Photo credit: vladekzumr.com

Overall competition rankings are available here.

We would not be able to put together such incredible events without the support of our host gyms and partners.

Event Hosts:

Nomad Bouldering

Sydney Indoor Climbing Gym Villawood

Gold Partner:

Kilter Grips

Silver Partners:

Rae-Line

Snap Holds

Partner:

Grizzly Holds

Officials and Volunteers

We are very grateful to have an incredible event team and volunteers supporting the running of the event. A massive THANK YOU to all of those involved.

Sport Climbing Australia open team member Grace Crowley has taken on the USA’s top speed climbers at the 2021 Yeti National Championships in Utah, USA. 

The 18-year-old Brunswick East local qualified for semi-finals after receiving a last-minute invitation to compete in the November 13 event. Crowley recorded a time of 11.95, finishing in 13th place against 16 of the USA’s strongest climbers.

Speed climbing requires two competitors at a time to race each other, and the clock, to the top of a 15m wall with a 5 degree incline. Speed climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where it was combined with the boulder and lead disciplines to determine the world’s first Olympic sport climbing medallists.

Full Results from the 2021 Yeti National Championships available here.

The 17-year-old Blue Mountains local was announced as a Red Bull team member in October.

Sport Climbing Australia’s national team member Angie Scarth-Johnson has been announced as a Red Bull sponsored athlete. 17-year-old Angie officially became part of Red Bull’s ranks in October, and will have the opportunity to join some of the world’s best climbers on team trips.

Angie started climbing at age seven and first stamped her name in the record books at just nine, when she became the youngest person to ever lead a grade 31 climb, “Swingline” at Red River Gorge, USA. A year later, Angie set yet another record, as the youngest person to lead a grade 32/33.

Based in the Blue Mountains, Angie is a member of Sport Climbing Australia’s national open team, and spends much of her year travelling, competing, and climbing abroad.

https://www.olympics.com.au/news/ohalloran-makes-olympic-debut-alongside-sport-climbing/