Paris, Aug. 9, (PA Media/dpa/GNA) – Britain’s Toby Roberts won speed climbing gold in the men’s boulder and lead competition at the Paris Olympics on Friday.
Roberts totalled 155.2 points in the two combined sections to beat Japanese favourite Sorato Anraku into second place.
The 19-year-old was third after the boulder round at Le Bourget Climbing Venue but produced a brilliant lead climb for 92.1 points, and his gold was sealed when Anraku fell just under 10 points from Roberts’ mark.
Austria’s orld champion Jakob Schubert took bronze and Britain’s Hamish McArthur finished fifth on 125.9 points.
The teenage gold medallist was previously given the nickname ‘The Terminator’ because of his determination, having taken up the sport as an after-school activity.
A jubilant Roberts said: “I’m just absolutely lost for words. To find out that I got the gold in that moment, it was just truly incredible.
“I’ve been training for this moment my whole life, and now I’ve just won. To say it hasn’t sunk in is an understatement.
“I don’t really know what to think right now, but I imagine later, there’s just going to be a flood of emotions. I’m just going to realize that, it’s a goal I’ve been training towards for for 10 years, basically. Just no words.”
GNA