“By 2023 I want to be world champion and qualify for Paris,” the Olympic climbing champion wished
MADRID, 25 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The climber Alberto Ginés, Olympic champion in Tokyo 2020, confessed that his greatest ‘madness’ was climbing the brick wall of his house during the COVID-19 quarantine, and expressed his desire to be world champion in 2023 and qualify for the next Games in Paris in 2024.
“What’s the craziest thing I’ve ever climbed? More than shocking, it’s funny: the brick wall of my house in quarantine,” said Alberto Ginés, who won two bronzes at the European Championships in Munich this August and who, from From October 26 to 29, the Red Bull Dual Ascent, the first climbing competition on an artificial route, will take place in the Swiss region of Ascona-Locarno.
“It is incredible to be part of this list of climbing talents and to undertake such a challenging route. I am excited to participate in a project as unique as this one,” added Ginés, who will partner with Slovenian Luka Potocar in ascent to the dam of Verzasca now converted into a climbing wall.
This dam, the backdrop for films such as one from the James Bond saga, will reach a total height of 180 meters in the Red Bull Dual with two parallel routes of six lengths each, with a minimum of 6C and a maximum difficulty of 8B, according to the French number system.
Sixteen of the best climbers in the world will compete to get there first, including the American Sasha DiGiulian; Swiss bouldering and ice climbing world champion Petra Klingler; and Brazilian free climbing icon Felipe Camargo.
For Alberto Ginés, the Red Bull Dual Ascent is a “great opportunity” to compete with friends in a completely new discipline for most. “The format looks very good, it seems that it will be dynamic and a bit stressful, everything necessary for a good competition,” he commented.
In the case of being able to climb in one place in the world, Ginés would choose Fenda, where he started climbing and which brings back “many memories”. “By 2023 I want to be world champion and qualify for the Paris Olympics in the world championships. It’s ambitious, but we’re going to fight for it,” he stressed.
