Team announced for Paraclimbing World Cup in Innsbruck

The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) can today announce the 15 athletes selected to represent the GB Climbing team at the IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup Innsbruck 2024. Competition will run from Monday 24 June to Tuesday 25 June at the Kletterzentrum Innsbruck.

The team features Salt Lake City silver medallist Luke Smith (RP3), who will be aiming to secure another podium finish. The 35-year-old clinched his first-ever silver medal in the opening Paraclimbing World Cup of the season in Salt Lake City.

Leeds-based climber Lucy Keyworth will be competing in the RP1 category as she enters her second year of international competition. Keyworth, who became National Champion in 2022, is also on the development squad for Paddle UK paracanoeing. The 24-year-old will look to build on her 11th-place finish at the Bern World Championships in 2023.

On being selected for the GB Paraclimbing team, Lucy Keyworth said:

“I feel proud, and it’s good to see my progress over the last four years, going from not climbing and being really poorly to representing the country. It is an honour to represent GB Climbing in a sport I love and enjoy, and the Paraclimbing team is super supportive.”

Martha Evans, RP3, aims to add to her impressive collection of medals. With three bronze and two silver medals, the 24-year-olds most recent success was a bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Bern in the RP3 category.

The full team is detailed below.

Zoe Spriggins, the GB Paraclimbing team manager, said:

“We’re heading into this World Cup with a really strong team of 14 athletes. We’ve got a mixture of experience and fresh emerging talent, and I’m really excited to see the team develop their performances in an elite competition environment.

“This week also brings with it a decision on whether our sport will be accepted as a discipline in the LA Paralympics in 2028. LA28 is the first organising committee in Games history to propose additional sports for both the Olympic and Paralympic Sport Programmes, and we look forward to this addition being reviewed and voted on during the IPC Governing Board meeting on Wednesday.”

The team in Innsbruck will receive support from the GB Climbing’s Zoe Spriggins and the volunteer coaching team: Jay Jackson, Suz Dudnick, and newly retired ex-athlete Richard Slocock.

Athletes:

Will Ruane AL1

Lucy Keyworth RP1

Cambell Plant RP1

Jonathan Shields AL2

Jo Newton AL2

Mat Armitage AL2

Luke Jamieson RP1

Martha Evans RP3

Anita Aggarwal RP3

Seb Musson AU2

James Rudge AU2