Toby Roberts

{{Infobox climber

|name=Toby Roberts

|image=2022-08-12 European Championships 2022 – Sport Climbing Men's Lead by Sandro Halank–194.jpg

|alt=Toby Roberts suspended by a rope at the 2022 European Championships

|caption=Roberts in 2022

|birth_date={{birth date and age|2005|03|15|df=y}}{{Cite web |title=Sport Climbing ROBERTS Toby |url=https://ec2022results.com/webrelease/en/results/sport-climbing/athlete-profile-n16742884-roberts-toby.htm |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=European Championships Munich 2022 |language=en}}

|nationality=English

|height=177 cm

| education = Edgeborough School, Surrey
King Edward's School, Surrey

| typeofclimber = {{flatlist|

}}

| highestredpoint = {{Climbing grade|9a+}}

| highestonsight =

| highestboulder =

| knownfor = {{flatlist|

Youngest Briton to redpoint 8a, 8b, 9a, and 9a+
Olympic gold medallist}}

|website = {{Official URL}}

|medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{Flagu|Great Britain}} }}

|updated=

}}

Toby Roberts (born 15 March 2005) is a British rock climber who specialises in competition climbing and in outdoor sport climbing. He is the youngest British climber to redpoint a {{climbing grade|9a}}-graded sport climbing route. He is the 2024 Olympic champion in the combined boulder and lead discipline in sport climbing and the 2024 World Cup champion in both lead and combined.

Early life and education

Roberts comes from Elstead, Surrey, the son of Tristian and Marina Roberts.{{cite web |last1=Peddy |first1=Chris |title=Paris 2024: Team GB's first male Olympic sport climber Toby Roberts has sights on gold |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sport-climbing/68712426 |website=BBC Sport |access-date=7 April 2024 |date=3 April 2024}}

Roberts attended Edgeborough School, an independent coeducational day preparatory school in Frensham (a village near Farnham) in Surrey, where he was introduced to climbing in 2013,{{cite web |title=Toby climbs his way to the top |work=Farnham Herald |date=27 July 2016 |url=https://www.farnhamherald.com/news/toby-climbs-his-way-to-the-top-177418 |access-date=30 October 2023}} followed by King Edward's School, an independent boarding and day school in Wormley (a village near Witley), also in Surrey.{{cite web|url=https://www.kesw.org/2020/12/17/climbing-feat/|title=Climbing Feat|work=King Edward's School, Witley|date=17 December 2020|accessdate=29 April 2024}}

Climbing career

=Rock climbing=

In 2015, at only ten years of age, Roberts redpointed the historic {{climbing grade|8a}} graded British sport climbing route, Raindogs, at Malham Cove in North Yorkshire. In 2020, aged 15, Roberts became the youngest British climber to climb a {{climbing grade|9a}} graded sport route when he redpointed Steve McClure's Rainshadow, also at Malham Cove. In 2021, Roberts became the 12th climber to redpoint Ben Moon's historic sport route, Hubble, at Raven Tor (the world's first 8c+-graded route).

=Competition climbing=

Roberts first started competing in international youth competition climbing events in 2019. In 2022, Roberts began his transition towards the international senior competition circuit, winning a bronze medal in lead climbing at the IFSC Climbing World Cup in Edinburgh in September 2022.

In May 2023, Roberts won his first World Cup medal in bouldering with a third-place finish in Salt Lake City. He went on to win his first World Cup gold medal in bouldering with a victory in Brixen in June 2023 followed by his first World Cup gold medal in lead climbing with a victory in Chamonix in July 2023, becoming the first British climber to win a gold medal in both the bouldering and lead climbing disciplines.{{cite web |title=Britain's teenage sensation Toby Roberts |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/toby-tristan-roberts-sport-climbing-teenager-father-son-interview |access-date=1 November 2023}}{{Cite web |title=Gold for Roberts at Lead World Cup Chamonix |url=https://services.thebmc.co.uk/gold-toby-roberts-lead-world-cup-chamonix |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=services.thebmc.co.uk}} In October 2023, he became the first male British climber–and the second British climber after Shauna Coxsey–to secure a spot in the Olympics for climbing by winning the 2023 European Qualifier in Laval.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sport-climbing/67257734 | title=British teenager Roberts seals historic Olympic place | work=BBC Sport | date=29 September 2023 | accessdate=30 October 2023 }}{{cite web | magazine=UK Climbing Magazine | url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2023/10/toby_roberts_qualifies_for_paris_2024_olympic_games_in_laval-73515 | first=Nathalie | last=Berry | date=29 October 2023 | accessdate=30 October 2023 | title=Toby Roberts Qualifies for Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Laval}}

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Roberts won a gold medal in the combined bouldering and lead climbing event, becoming the first British climber to win an Olympic medal.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/articles/cpw8r1r4ne9o|title=Teenager Roberts wins climbing gold for Team GB|date=9 August 2024 |publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=9 August 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/team-gbs-toby-roberts-secures-gold-in-mens-boulder-at-paris-olympics-13193920|title=Team GB teenager Toby Roberts secures climbing gold at Paris Olympics|publisher=Sky News|accessdate=9 August 2024}} Subsequently, he finished first overall in the 2024 Lead World Cup series{{Cite web |last=Pardy |first=Aaron |date=2024-10-11 |title=Olympic Gold Medalist Sends 5.15a in Spain |url=https://gripped.com/news/olympic-gold-medalist-sends-5-15a-in-spain/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF3MQ1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcp2vAwZnx29f4MrYynmEFbdEtqy_95C6bW1Ig1fC65elJ6W4q6HG3CEaw_aem_2Ct9jNsvr88rOUoDvq_Sqw |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=Gripped Magazine |language=en-US}} and first overall in the 2024 Lead rankings and Combined rankings.{{Cite web |title=Official website of the International Federation of Sport Climbing. |url=https://www.ifsc-climbing.org/rankings/index?discipline=lead&category=men |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=www.ifsc-climbing.org |language=en}}

Rankings

= IFSC Climbing World Cup =

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

! style="background: #b0e0e6;" |Discipline

! style="background: #b0e0e6" |2022

! style="background: #b0e0e6" |2023

! style="background: #b0e0e6" |2024

! style="background: #b0e0e6" |2025

Boulder

|12

Lead

|20

| style="background: Gold" | 1

Combined

| style="background: Gold" | 1

= IFSC Climbing World Championships =

== Youth ==

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Discipline

!2022 Youth A

align="left" |Boulder

| style="background: Silver" | 2

align="left" |Lead

| style="background: Silver" | 2

== Senior ==

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Discipline

!2023

align="left" |Boulder

| 19

align="left" |Lead

| 9

align="left" |Boulder & Lead

| 5

Number of medals at the IFSC Climbing World Cup

= Lead<ref name=":0" /> =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! width="55" |Season

! width="55" style="background: gold;" |Gold

! width="55" style="background: silver;" |Silver

! width="55" style="background: #cc9966;" |Bronze

! width="55" |Total

2022

2023

2024

Total

= Bouldering<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Toby Roberts |url=https://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php?option=com_ifsc&task=athlete.display&id=11490 |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=[[International Federation of Sport Climbing]]}}</ref> =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! width="55" |Season

! width="55" style="background: gold;" |Gold

! width="55" style="background: silver;" |Silver

! width="55" style="background: #cc9966;" |Bronze

! width="55" |Total

2023

2024

2025

Total

Number of medals at the Summer Olympics

= Combined =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! width="55" |Olympics

! width="55" style="background: gold;" |Gold

! width="55" style="background: silver;" |Silver

! width="55" style="background: #cc9966;" |Bronze

! width="55" |Total

2024

Total

Notable ascents

= Redpointed routes =

{{Climbing grade|9a+}}:

:* Gancho Perfecto – Margalef (Spain) – 2024. Months after winning his Olympic gold medal, Roberts repeated the popular Chris Sharma route, marking his hardest send to date.

{{Climbing grade|9a}}:

:* Batman – Malham Cove (United Kingdom) – 2021. Became the youngest British climber to redpoint a 9a/+-graded route at age 16.{{cite web | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/toby-roberts-repeats-hubble-raven-tor-england.html | title=Toby Roberts repeats Hubble at Raven Tor in England | date=28 October 2021 | accessdate=31 December 2021 | website=PlanetMountain.com}}

:* Rainshadow – Malham Cove (United Kingdom) – 2020. Became the youngest British climber to redpoint a 9a-graded route at age 15.

{{Climbing grade|8c+}}:

:* Hubble – Raven Tor (United Kingdom) – 2021. Repeat of Ben Moon's historic sport climb.{{cite web | website=Gripped.com | url=https://gripped.com/profiles/toby-roberts-is-strongest-brit-you-probably-havent-heard-of/ | title=Toby Roberts is Strongest Brit You Probably Haven't Heard Of | date=28 October 2021 | accessdate=31 December 2021}}

Other:

:* Revelations {{climbing grade|8b}} – Raven Tor (United Kingdom) – October 2016. Became the youngest British climber to redpoint an 8b-graded route at age 11 by repeating Jerry Moffatt's historic sport climbing route.{{cite web | magazine=UK Climbing Magazine | first=Nathalie | last=Berry | url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2016/11/revelations_8b_by_11_year-old_toby_roberts-70777 | date=1 November 2016 | accessdate=30 October 2023 | title=Revelations 8b by 11 year-old Toby Roberts}}

:* Raindogs {{climbing grade|8a}} – Malham Cove (United Kingdom) – October 2015. Became the youngest British climber to redpoint an 8a-graded route at age 10 by repeating the historic sport climbing route.{{cite web | url=https://www.thebmc.co.uk/toby-roberts-youngest-brit-to-climb-9a | title=Toby Roberts becomes youngest Brit to climb 9a | first=Sarah | last=Sterling | date=9 December 2020 | accessdate=30 October 2023 | website=BMC}}{{cite web | magazine=UK Climbing Magazine | first=Nathalie | last=Berry | url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2015/10/youngest_ascent_of_raindogs_8a_for_10_year-old_toby_roberts-70054 | date=27 October 2015 | accessdate=30 October 2023 | title=Youngest Ascent of Raindogs 8a for 10 year-old Toby Roberts}}

References

External links

[https://www.teamgb.com/article/who-is-toby-roberts-gbs-teenager-climbing-extraordinaire/4uyfrN655wMNdz4aUxtclK Who is Toby Roberts? The first British male climber to qualify for the Olympics], Team GB (October 2023)

Category:2005 births

Category:Living people

Category:British rock climbers

Category:Sport climbers at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:People educated at Edgeborough School

Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Witley

Category:Sportspeople from Surrey

Category:British competition climbers

Category:Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain

Category:Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:Olympic medalists in sport climbing

Category:Olympic sport climbers for Great Britain