Climbing · Worth knowing

The World Climbing Europe Championship in Laval, France (August 29-30, 2026) will feature 184 athletes from 27 nations competing for continental Lead and Speed titles. In men's Lead, defending champion Sascha Lehmann of Switzerland will compete alongside multiple-time World Champion Jakob Schubert and Czech icon Adam Ondra, with Spain's Alberto Ginés López (Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion) also in contention. A new women's Lead champion will be crowned with Laura Rogora absent; Jessica Pilz (Paris 2024 bronze medallist) and Erin McNeice are leading contenders alongside rising junior prospect Rafael Kazbekova stepping up to senior competition. In Speed, defending men's champion Ludovico Fossali of Italy faces strong competition from Switzerland's Gilles Meili and Ukraine's Hryhorii Ilchyshyn, who set a European Speed Relay record earlier this year. Poland's Aleksandra Mirosław, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion, will make her final competitive appearance in the women's Speed event, joining defending champion Natalia Kałucka and her twin sister Aleksandra, giving Poland three medal contenders. The finals will be livestreamed on YouTube on August 30.

Para Climbing World Series action in Laval saw France dominate day one with three gold medals across 19 sport classes. Veteran climber Lucie Jarrige secured her 24th gold medal in the women's AL2 class, now boasting a perfect medal record across 25 participations. Jarrige noted that modern competition requires more dynamic movement and technical variety than in previous years, forcing climbers to train differently for varied holds and sequences rather than relying solely on raw strength. Other standout performances included Antoine Keodara's second consecutive world gold in the men's RP3 class, and strong showings from Switzerland's Dominic Geisseler and USA's Wanying Morningstar, with finals continuing on Saturday night.

Russian athlete Pyotr Zemlyakov won gold at the European Climbing Championship in speed climbing on August 29, 2026, in Laval, France, with a time of 5.0 seconds, defeating Frenchman Marceau Garnier (5.05 seconds). Zemlyakov's brother Ivan took bronze with 6.25 seconds. During the quarterfinals, the Russian climbers set a new national record in the discipline with a time of 4.86 seconds.