On September 12th through the 16th the World Climbing Championships took place in Paris, France. Over 500 athletes representing 60 countries entered the competition. Jaime Quintana, a Mission Cliffs climber for the past 3 years, headed out to France to represent his home country of Peru in the comp. Quintana works as an IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) and AMGA (American Mountain Guides Associations) guide leading climbing expeditions in the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhuash in Peru during the summer.
Quintana talked to the Touchstone blog a bit about his experience.
Being in the World Cup climbing championship was a good opportunity to compete with the best climbers in the world and meet awesome climbers and people who want to push this sport to be included in the 2020 Olympic Games.
I can definitely say that it was a privilege as a rock-climber and athlete to have had the opportunity to climb in such a grand event with some of the best rock-climbers in the world. I don’t think I was nervous at all because I’m used to people, crowds, and pressure- so that made me feel kind of comfortable. At the same time I knew that I was competing with the best climbers. Just being there was very exciting because it wasn’t just a competition. This event was key because it brought people from the Olympic Committee to watch and see if this sport can be included in the 2020 Olympic Games.
Before I came back to the US, I got this invitation to participate in this event so I was training in the area I felt strongest, which was bouldering. Due to flight delays, I was unable to make it to the isolation area on time and therefore couldn’t participate in the eliminator round for Bouldering. I was, however, fortunate enough to participate in two of the three events: lead and speed climbing. I did my best to qualify; yet I knew I was not in the best shape for these 2 events.
I’m very excited that Touchstone is going to open a new bouldering gym (The Dogpatch) where there will be more space and top-out bouldering routes. It will be awesome for getting in good shape for comps like the one I participated in.
