Olympic gold medal-winning British climber Toby Roberts said winning in Paris was the “proudest moment” of his life.
The 19 year old won the Olympic title in men’s bouldering and led after beating Japanese Sorato Anraku – who was the favorite for the event.
The victory came as a huge surprise to Roberts, who said he was “incredibly happy” to win silver when Anraku fell off the wall before reaching the gold medal mark.
“When he went down, I looked for confirmation from my coaches and thought ‘wow, I just achieved my dream,'” Roberts said, adding, “That’s when all the emotions came out. It was the proudest moment of my life.” .”
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Nicknamed “The Terminator”, their victory marks Team GB’s first gold medal in the sport climbing category, which was introduced in Tokyo three years ago.
Always passionate about climbing, Roberts told Sky News he discovered the sport aged seven and was “instantly hooked”.
At just 10 years old, he became the youngest Brit to climb one of the UK’s most popular climbs – the Raindogs route 8a at Malham Cove in North Yorkshire.
Roberts said even his family got involved in the sport, and his father, Tristan, remains his coach to this day.
“During the COVID lockdown [my dad] built a climbing wall in the garden,” Roberts said, describing his “incredibly supportive parents.”
“I had some of my best workouts that year, some of the biggest gains of my life [happened] during that year.”
Roberts celebrates his victory with his father – and coach – Tristan. Photo: PA
When asked about his future, having achieved his dream at such a young age, Roberts said he would “take a break” before focusing on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
‘It feels like a dream’
Another British athlete whose journey at the Paris Games ended with a podium finish is heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Securing a silver medal for the event – which involves seven different athletics events over two days – Johnson-Thompson said the victory “feels like a dream”.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson after winning silver. Photo: PA
Paris was the 31-year-old’s first medal in four Olympic Games and she led much of the two-day competition.
But after the javelin throw on Friday morning, the Liverpudlian was second behind Belgian rival Nafissatou Thiam, needing to beat her by a margin of more than eight seconds in the 800 metres.
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“For me, having a golden chance is everything,” Johnson-Thompson told Sky News. “As a heptathlete, when you reach 800m, anything is possible, and I was really happy to have had that moment to try.”
The athlete finished second in the final race and almost six seconds ahead of Thiam, who secured his unprecedented third Olympic heptathlon title by just 36 points.
Johnson-Thompson had a personal best in the 800m. Photo: Reuters
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When asked how she felt after the race, Johnson-Thompson said: “[The] Instant emotion is relief. Luckily we were able to take a victory lap and see the crowd and I was definitely emotional at the end.
“I’m so glad it ended in happy tears.”
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The athlete said that she now intends to celebrate with “pizza and wine” and catch up on her sleep, as she didn’t sleep much in the last few days of the competition.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
