Toby Roberts

British rock climber (born 2005)
  • Competition climbing
  • Sport climbing
  • Bouldering
Highest grade
  • Redpoint: 9a (5.14d)
Known for
  • Youngest Briton to redpoint 8a, 8b, and 9a
  • Olympic gold medallist
Medal record
Men's competition climbing
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place Paris 2024 Combined
World Cup
Gold medal – first place Koper 2024 Lead
Gold medal – first place Wujiang 2024 Lead
Gold medal – first place Chamonix 2023 Lead
Gold medal – first place Brixen 2023 Boulder
Bronze medal – third place Chamonix 2024 Lead
Bronze medal – third place Innsbruck 2024 Lead
Bronze medal – third place Salt Lake City 2023 Boulder
Bronze medal – third place Edinburgh 2022 Lead

Toby Roberts (born 15 March 2005) is a British rock climber who specialises in competition climbing and in outdoor sport climbing. He is the youngest British climber to redpoint a 9a (5.14d)-graded sport climbing route. He is the 2024 Olympic champion in sport climbing.

Early life and education

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]

Climbing career

Rock climbing

In 2015, at only ten years of age, Roberts 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

In 2019, Roberts started competing in international youth competition climbing events.

In 2022, Roberts began his transition towards the international senior competition circuit, winning a bronze medal in lead climbing at the IFSC Climbing World Cup in Edinburgh in September 2022.

In May 2023, Roberts won his first World Cup medal in bouldering with a third-place finish in Salt Lke City. He went on to win his first World Cup gold medal in bouldering with a victory in Brixen in June 2023 followed by his first World Cup gold medal in lead climbing with a victory in Chamonix in July 2023, becoming the first British climber to win a gold medal in both the bouldering and lead climbing disciplines.[8][9] In October 2023, he became the first male British climber–and the second British climber after Shauna Coxsey–to secure a spot in the Olympics for climbing by winning the 2023 European Qualifier in Laval.[10][11]

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Roberts won a gold medal in the combined bouldering and lead climbing event, becoming the first British climber to win an Olympic medal.[12][13]

Rankings

Olympics

Combined

Season Gold Silver Bronze Total
2024 1 1
Total 1 1

IFSC Climbing World Cup[14]

Lead

Season Gold Silver Bronze Total
2022 1 1
2023 1 1
2024 2 2 4
Total 3 3 6

Boulder

Season Gold Silver Bronze Total
2023 1 1 2
Total 1 1 2

IFSC Climbing Youth World Championships[14]

Discipline 2022

Youth A

Boulder 2
Lead 2

Notable ascents

Redpointed routes

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):

  • Hubble – Raven Tor (UK) – 2021. Repeat of Ben Moon's historic sport climb.[6][7]

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.[15]
  • 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][16]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toby Roberts.
  • Will Bosi, British rock and competition climber

References

  1. ^ "Sport Climbing ROBERTS Toby". European Championships Munich 2022. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  2. ^ a b "Toby climbs his way to the top". Farnham Herald. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Climbing Feat". King Edward's School, Witley. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b c Sterling, Sarah (9 December 2020). "Toby Roberts becomes youngest Brit to climb 9a". BMC. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "Toby Roberts repeats Hubble at Raven Tor in England". PlanetMountain.com. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Toby Roberts is Strongest Brit You Probably Haven't Heard Of". Gripped.com. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Britain's teenage sensation Toby Roberts". Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Gold for Roberts at Lead World Cup Chamonix". services.thebmc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  10. ^ "British teenager Roberts seals historic Olympic place". BBC Sport. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  11. ^ Berry, Nathalie (29 October 2023). "Toby Roberts Qualifies for Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Laval". UK Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Teenager Roberts wins climbing gold for Team GB". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Team GB teenager Toby Roberts secures climbing gold at Paris Olympics". Sky News. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Toby Roberts". International Federation of Sport Climbing. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  15. ^ Berry, Nathalie (1 November 2016). "Revelations 8b by 11 year-old Toby Roberts". UK Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  16. ^ Berry, Nathalie (27 October 2015). "Youngest Ascent of Raindogs 8a for 10 year-old Toby Roberts". UK Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  • Who is Toby Roberts? The first British male climber to qualify for the Olympics, Team GB (October 2023)