Four Top Canadian Comp Climbers in 2019

As we head into 2020 with climbing more popular than ever, there are so many competition climbers in Canada that the numbers are into the thousands.

There are repeat podium-making climbers in every province and some even competed on the World Cup circuit. We’ll see the interest in competition climbing rise to a new level as it makes its debut at the Olympics.

Below are a few of the many amazing competition climbers who took home medals this year and continue to inspire others.

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Strong comp by @mccollsean at the China Open with a podium! Canadians @alannah_yip finished eighth and @jason.holowach finished 10th. For more comp news and results visit profile link. Photo @thecircuitclimbing #ifsc #olympics #chinaopen #climbing #grippedmagazine

A post shared by Gripped Magazine Comps (@grippedmagazinecomps) on Nov 4, 2019 at 9:15am PST

Sean McColl

Sean McColl has been representing Canada on the world stage for well over a decade. The 32-year-old climber from Vancouver is the only Canadian who’s qualified for the 2020 Olympics so far.

He finished top 10 at the world championships, a number of world cups and finished fifth overall at the lead world championships. Be sure to watch out for an in-depth talk with McColl in Gripped magazine in the new year.

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My top-9 from 2019, and what an amazing year it was ? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thank you for all your support; the ups are amazing, the downs are rigorous, ultimately the whole process is my career in this wonderful sport of climbing. ?? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ With 2020 imminent, I’ve made my list of goals for the year, both personal and competitive! One from my 2019 goal list was to study a language every day in 2019; happy to report I’m 2 days away from getting that ✔️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ @adidasterrex | @scarpana | @joerockheads | @verticalartclimbing | @flashedclimbing | @perfect_descent | @CANFund | @visaca #verticalart #CANFund #TeamVisa #climbing #train #canada #instagood #picoftheday #photooftheday #athlete #igers #amazing #sports #fitspo #gymlife #power #fitfam #adventure #fitness #work #workhard #workout #2019bestnine #top #top9

A post shared by Sean McColl (@mccollsean) on Dec 30, 2019 at 3:51pm PST

Alannah Yip

At 26, Vancouver climber Alannah Yip continues to excel at regional and national competitions. She’s the current open bouldering champion, a title she’s held three times in four years, and is ranked 10th overall in the world.

Yip is currently preparing for the 2020 Pan American Olympic Qualifier, the final qualification event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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China Open 2019 ?? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What a fun event with friends from all over the globe ? and climbing wise, I’m definitely feeling improvements in my speed and lead since the World Championships! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ @arcteryx @petzl_official @scarpana @canfund

A post shared by Alannah Yip (@alannah_yip) on Nov 11, 2019 at 3:35pm PST

Dylan Le

Montreal climber Dylan Le, 14, placed third in Youth B Speed at the IFSC Youth World Championships in Italy this year. It was a historic podium, as it was the first medal in 13 years for a Canadian at the event.

Back in Canada, he’s the champion in Youth B Speed and Bouldering for 2019 and finished third in Youth B Lead. This past month, he became the 2019/20 Quebec bouldering champion.

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Quebec champion !!

A post shared by Dylan Le (@dylan___le) on Dec 8, 2019 at 8:29am PST

Indiana Chapman

Indiana Chapman has been leading the way in her categories for the past few years. The 16-year-old Toronto climber finished 12th in Youth A Lead at the 2019 IFSC Youth World Championships.

Chapman is the 2019 Youth A Bouldering and Lead Champion and finished in third in Open Lead. In October, she injured her knee doing a heel hook and couldn’t compete in the start of the 2019/20 comp season.

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??FINALS?? I had such a great time competing in my first year at Open Lead Nationals! I’m so psyched to have walked away with 3rd place in open, and to win the youth A category – which is my 10th national title! Amongst such a strong field of ladies, the competition gets harder every year and it’s so motivating climbing with all of them ?! A big thank you to @allezupmtl for hosting such a hype event, and to my sponsors Game Hive, @muskokawoods, @boulderparc, and @temboclimbing for all the support! • #lsn2019 #canadianleadnationals #teamcanada?? #leadclimbing #canadianclimbing #gamehive #muskokawoods #muskokawoodsathleteambassador #boulderparcathlete #temboclimbing

A post shared by I N D I A N A • C H A P M A N (@indiana.chapman) on May 20, 2019 at 5:35pm PDT