Staša Gejo Steps Away From Comp Climbing
A familiar face on the IFSC scene, moving forward the top Serbian climber is going to focus her efforts on the rock
Photo by: Lena Drapella/IFSC
Staša Gejo recently announced that she’s stepping away from competitive climbing. The 27-year-old Serbian has been a frequent competitor on the IFSC World Cup scene since 2013, participating in both Lead and Boulder comps.
Gejo is perhaps best known for her bouldering accomplishments. She earned bronze at Boulder World Championships in 2018 and 2021. She won bronze three times at Boulder World Cups: Chongqing 2018, Innsbruck 2021, and Brixen 2023. Placing 2nd at the European Olympic Qualifier in 2023, she just missed her chance to compete in the Olympics.
After the recent Dock Masters 2025 comp in Utrecht, Netherlands, Gejo announced her comp climbing decision via Instagram. “The competition environment doesn’t inspire me, it repulses me,” she said. Her statement is lengthy and well worth reading. You can find it in its entirety below.
She provided several rationales for stepping away from comp climbing, including modern setting and support. “I have a beef with routesetting, I admit it, but it’s also MY problem,” she said in her statement. “I might be too old school for it. I can’t see another no-tex hold. I can’t see the same faces setting every competition and dictating the trends. I have a problem with it and that’s it. I don’t have the support, a team, a gym and resources to pay these precious faces, to follow the trends and be good at them.”
With comp climbing in her rearview mirror, Gejo is looking forward to climbing more on rock. “My climbing life isn’t over,” said Gejo. “I just don’t want to be a part of this circus anymore. I might return for a competition or two but my full focus is on climbing outside and climbing for myself. I want to discover places and people and just climb.”
On the rock, Gejo has climbed up to V14. In 2022, she sent Mécanique Elémentaire V14 in Fontainebleau. She’s climbed at least three V13s. She topped Incubator V13 in Zillertal Austria in July last year. On a trip to Rocklands four summers ago, she completed Mooiste Meisie and The Arch, both V13.
Gejo’s full statement can be read below:
Another great comp, a good result too (3rd place), but internally, I struggled. I’ve been wanting to share my thoughts and my plans but always backed out or never thought that the greater audience would understand what has been going on the last year. You might have seen it coming. But here it is, I decided it’s not for me anymore. The competition environment doesn’t inspire me, it repulses me.
2024 was full of disappointments, a betrayal, loss of solid ground, loss of routine, normality, unfulfilled needs of an athlete with a big goal. In the end, the summer was marked as loss of love for the sport, marked by a return in another light, in another aspect. But every attempt at competing, no matter how successful, felt wrong. Win or not, it felt bitter.
I was afraid to just call it and say bye. I felt like it would be a shame to just go. In Villars in August, I knew it was my last IFSC comp. And I loved being there with my good friends and with my family. But I didn’t like the climbing part at all. Finals disgusted me especially.
I tried to do masters here and there. “That should be fun.” Again, fun with people, not fun climbing. I’ll talk about the challenges that I had in the next post, but I need to cover one topic beforehand.
I have a beef with routesetting, I admit it, but it’s also MY problem. I might be too old school for it. I can’t see another no-tex hold. I can’t see the same faces setting every competition and dictating the trends. I have a problem with it and that’s it. I don’t have the support, a team, a gym and resources to pay these precious faces, to follow the trends and be good at them.
Dock Masters setting was hard in all rounds. I had no will to climb in the end and I came to have fun, oh well. All the pressing, shoulder stress and fatigue killed me. Sure, I’m not in the shape to withstand the strain for so long. After all, I do a 35h/week job since July and train maybe for 10-12h. I still climb so well, nevertheless.
What I want to say is, I like climbing hard and challenging boulders, but in my own time, with no stress and no comparison. With resting, with friends, playing!
Another thing that makes it difficult to proceed is the support. I moved out of my country when I was 16 and lived apart from my parents ever since. I pursued both academic and sports careers in foreign countries. I was always warmly welcomed in the climbing teams and trained, learned, and grew together with the climbers. I progressed, felt supported and I felt like I had a team.
And then always something happens that is unknown to me which makes me sidelined and gets me unwelcome and foreign again. So I have to move on and find another surrounding which might be a bit more welcoming. And so on in circles. When such a thing happens before the two biggest Olympic qualifiers, it’s not a nice nor easy thing to deal with.
I was always jealous of big teams who have multiple coaches, physios on demand, massive gyms for themselves, new setting every two to three weeks. Full attention to athletes…
I had support without which I would be nowhere close to being as good as I am now. I have my parents, my family and friends, who were the only people that still supported me 1000% I cooperated with some coaches on the side as well but that was only a part of what I really needed and probably deserved. They were either far away, with limited availability or having other priorities. So it would always work a certain time period and then not anymore. But I’m very grateful for those people, nevertheless!
I had amazing support from my government, my federation and the Serbian Olympic Committee and I cannot even express my gratitude towards these institutions. They helped me be able to live normally from this sport. And lastly I had my dear sponsors which followed me for so many years and provided me with the best equipment. But it seems that the competition climbing goes far beyond to demand what was “enough” before from an individual or a team.
My climbing life isn’t over. I just don’t want to be a part of this circus anymore. I might return for a competition or two but my full focus is on climbing outside and climbing for myself. I want to discover places and people and just climb.
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