British Championships 2015
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Next route I was lucky. I was first up. A chance to show
everyone else I was there to mean business. Pace was everything, no time to
stop to think I threw myself into harder and harder moves. I started to breath
heavily. I fell right at the top having given my all.
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The next day was the seniors. I recognised many of the
people I saw from UKclimbing.com articles for sending their recent desperate
8c+/9a projects. I was first up again on my first qualifier. This time I wasn’t
too keen because it looked like a really technical slab. The bottom turned out
to be easy but as I climbed high the holds got worse and worse. I got to a
volume and I needed a high step, like really high. I decided I’d display my
legendary flexibility which I’d been training for ages, it took me about 6
attempts to get my foot up. I wobbled on this volume. Tried to find balance. I
think I need to spend more time slacklining as I twisted and fell off.
Only six went through to final, a small number, six of Britain’s
best. Would I be one of them? The next route would decide. I climbed fast but
found it hard, my body stretched out, tortured. I felt like a spider with
someone pulling its legs. I made it to the change of direction. I rested,
thinking of nothing but the climbing, everything was about the climbing. About
10 moves left. With each move my arms weakened but I was on the last hold! I
clipped the chains! I was in final.
I’d spent many hours in school looking out the window thinking about this moment. Now it had arrived. I waited like I had done yesterday, the people outside waiting too, expecting. The lower wall went easily and soon I was into the hard climbing in the roof. I spun around looking at the crowd’s excited faces. The next moves were big but I climbed passed a clipping position. All of a sudden I was stuck, I couldn’t reverse and backtrack my mistake and yet I couldn’t go further. It was over I fell. Disappointed I lowered to the ground. I ended in 4th.