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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/

Will Hammersla 20.7.21 FOR PODCAST.mp3

Australian Olympians Tom O'Halloran and Oceania Mackenzie are preparing to depart for Tokyo 2020.  They will be competing in Sport Climbing's for Olympic outing as part of a cohort of 20 male and 20 female athletes.  

The event will be held in the combined format with the winner determined by the ranking of the results from speed, lead and boulder.  

Tom and Oceania are two of 488 athletes from Australia competing at the games.  You can find out more about the team here: 

https://www.olympics.com.au/games/tokyo-2020/team/ 

You can support Tom and Oceania by buying and wearing some of our supporter merch!  

https://sportclimbingaustralia.org.au/Online-Shop