Toby Roberts (born 15 March 2005) is an English rock climber who specializes in competition climbing and in outdoor sport climbing. He is the youngest British climber to redpoint a 9a (5.14d)-graded sport climbing route, and in 2023 became the first British male climber to qualify for the Olympics.
 Toby Roberts in 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | British | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | March 15, 2005[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Edgeborough School,[2] Surrey King Edward's School,[3] Surrey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Toby Roberts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Early life and education edit
Roberts comes from Elstead, Surrey, the son of Tristian and Marina Roberts.[4]
Roberts attended Edgeborough School, an independent coeducational day preparatory school in Frensham (a village near Farnham) in Surrey, where he was introduced to climbing in 2013,[2] followed by King Edward's School, an independent boarding and day school in Wormley (a village near Witley), also in Surrey.[3]
Rock climbing edit
In 2015, at only ten years of age, he redpointed the historic 8a (5.13b) graded British sport climbing route, Raindogs, at Malham Cove in North Yorkshire.[5] In 2020, aged 15, Roberts became the youngest British climber to climb a 9a (5.14d) graded sport route when he redpointed Steve McClure's Rainshadow, also at Malham Cove.[5] In 2021, Roberts became the 12th climber to redpoint Ben Moon's historic sport route, Hubble, at Raven Tor (the world's first 8c+-graded route).[6][7]
Competition climbing edit
In June 2023, Roberts won his first gold medal in the competition bouldering discipline at the senior level.[8] In October 2023, aged 18, he became the first male British climber–and the second British climber after Shauna Coxsey–to earn a place in the Olympics for climbing by winning at the European Olympic Qualifier in Laval, France for the 2024 Olympics.[9][10]
Rankings edit
IFSC World Cup[11] edit
Lead edit
| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2023 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2024 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Total | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Boulder edit
| Season | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 2 |
IFSC Climbing Youth World Championships[11] edit
| Discipline | 2022
Youth A |
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| Boulder | 2 |
| Lead | 2 |
Notable ascents edit
Redpointed routes edit
9a (5.14d):
- Batman – Malham Cove (UK) – 2021. Became the youngest British climber to redpoint a 9a/+-graded route at age 16.[6]
- Rainshadow – Malham Cove (UK) – 2020. Became the youngest British climber to redpoint a 9a-graded route at age 15.[6]
8c+ (5.14c):
Other:
- Revelations 8b (5.13d) – Raven Tor (UK) – October 2016. Became the youngest British climber to redpoint an 8b-graded route at age 11 by repeating Jerry Moffatt's historic sport climbing route.[12]
- Raindogs 8a (5.13b) – Malham Cove (UK) – October 2015. Became the youngest British climber to redpoint an 8a-graded route at age 10 by repeating the historic sport climbing route.[5][13]
See also edit
- Will Bosi, British rock and competition climber
References edit
- ^ "Sport Climbing ROBERTS Toby". European Championships Munich 2022. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ^ a b "Toby climbs his way to the top". Farnham Herald. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Climbing Feat". King Edward's School, Witley. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ Peddy, Chris (3 April 2024). "Paris 2024: Team GB's first male Olympic sport climber Toby Roberts has sights on gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Sterling, Sarah (9 December 2020). "Toby Roberts becomes youngest Brit to climb 9a". BMC. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Toby Roberts repeats Hubble at Raven Tor in England". PlanetMountain.com. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Toby Roberts is Strongest Brit You Probably Haven't Heard Of". Gripped.com. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ "Britain's teenage sensation Toby Roberts". Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "British teenager Roberts seals historic Olympic place". BBC Sport. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ Berry, Nathalie (29 October 2023). "Toby Roberts Qualifies for Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Laval". UK Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Toby Roberts". International Federation of Sport Climbing. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ Berry, Nathalie (1 November 2016). "Revelations 8b by 11 year-old Toby Roberts". UK Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ Berry, Nathalie (27 October 2015). "Youngest Ascent of Raindogs 8a for 10 year-old Toby Roberts". UK Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2023.