Climber September/October 2017

Billy Ridal, Will Bosi and Orrin Coley all battled in vain with the
slopers but fell short of the cut-off for the finals. Slovenian climber
Anže Peharc snatched the sixth and final place in the finals.
When the finals got underway late in the afternoon the blazing
heat had pumped temperatures on the competition wall further –
so much so that the competitors’ hearts must have sunk through
the soles of their shoes as volumes (and thus a lack of positive
holds) once again played a major part in the blocs. That said, the
huge crowd were soon cheering as the tops started to rack up for
Leah Crane. Despite some particularly valiant efforts from the
talented youngsters, such as Holly Toothill and Kitty Morrison as
well as Molly Thompson-Smith, Leah Crane remained cool under
pressure and soon headed the field going on to top all four blocs
and take a convincing win. It was Leah’s third BBC title after her
victories back in 2009 and 2010. Hannah Slaney and Molly
Thompson-Smith joined her on the podium in second and third
with four and three tops respectively in nine attempts each.
The order of the men’s event soon started to switch from
the semi-finals as Tyler Landman began to pull away from the
field with some especially determined climbing. In the end he
topped all four blocs in eight attempts, some six attempts ahead
of Slovenian Anže Peharc who came in second. Nathan Phillips,
with three top-outs in five attempts, edged last year’s winner Matt
Cousins off the podium whilst Dave Barrans and Jim Pope finished
in fifth and sixth. n
RESULTS
Men
1. Tyler Landman
2. Anže Peharc
3. Nathan Phillips
4. Matt Cousins
5. Dave Barrans
6. Jim Pope
Women
1. Leah Crane
2. Hannah Slaney
3. Molly Thompson-Smith
4. Holly Toothill
5. Charlotte Garden
6. Kitty Morrison
A focused Charlotte Garden
put in a strong performance
to finish fifth overall.