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Sean McColl Perseveres Through Cracked Rib at Pan Am Games

The top Canadian climber broke his rib in the Boulder round (where he placed first) and still went on to compete in the Lead round

Photo by: Lena Drapella/IFSC
October 24, 2023
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Sean McColl was on fire at the Boulder & Lead Combined event at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. He started the comp by placing third in the semi-finals, setting him up well for finals. In the Boulder round of yesterday’s finals, he topped the first three problems with relative ease. Then on the fourth and final problem, he took a bad fall and cracked a rib. He didn’t top the problem but he left the round ranked first with 85.5 points.

Unbelievably, McColl decided to still compete in the Lead round later that day. “There was fear, tears, pain, doubt, tape and ice but perseverance and stubbornness eventually prevailed,” he said about the ordeal on Instagram. “I did climb my route, in whatever capacity I could. It wasn’t perfect with the ever increasing pain but it wasn’t bad either. I’m proud of what I did, and I will still leave these Games with a sense of accomplishment.”

With his broken rib, he still managed to place fourth in the Lead round (tied with fellow Canadian Victor Baudrand). This Lead result left McColl with 132.5 points overall, just 5.9 points shy of a podium finish. Although he didn’t win a medal or clinch that coveted Paris Olympics ticket, McColl’s ability to dig deep at the Pan Ams is arguably an even more inspiring story. You can read his full statement about his Pan American Games experience in his Instagram post below.

Boulder & Lead Combined Final Results

  1. Jesse Grupper 161.5 (USA)
  2. Sean Bailey 141.6 (USA)
  3. Zach Galla 138.5 (USA)
  4. Sean McColl 132.6 (CAN)
  5. Oscar Baudrand 87.4 (CAN)
  6. Victor Baudrand 83.1 (CAN)
  7. Benjamin Vargas 58.0 (CHI)
  8. Thor Villegas 53.1 (MEX)

Boulder Round Results

  1. Sean McColl 85.5 (CAN)
  2. Sean Bailey 85.5 (USA)
  3. Zach Galla 84.4 (USA)
  4. Jesse Grupper 69.4 (USA)
  5. Oscar Baudrand 69.3 (CAN)
  6. Benjamin Vargas 39.9 (CHI)
  7. Thor Villegas 35.0 (MEX)
  8. Victor Baudrand 35.0 (CAN)

Lead Round Results

  1. Jesse Grupper 92.1 (USA)
  2. Sean Bailey 57.1 (USA)
  3. Zach Galla 54.1 (USA)
  4. Victor Baudrand 48.1 (CAN)
  5. Sean McColl 48.1 (CAN)
  6. Thor Villegas 18.1 (MEX)
  7. Benjamin Vargas 18.1 (CHI)
  8. Oscar Baudrand 18.1 (CAN)
Photo by Lena Drapella.

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Lead photo: Lena Drapella/IFSC