Shauna COXSEY

'I started climbing at the age of four after seeing it on TV, began competing when I was seven years old, and never looked back until I retired after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

MY JOURNEY 

I would have preferred to be in better shape for the Olympics, but I'd already achieved everything I wanted to in competition, and it was really cool to be one of the first climbing Olympians. Since then, I've moved into rock climbing which has been a huge change because there are so many layers to it. I love the freedom it gives me. With competition climbing, I had to perform at that time, on that day, in that moment. There was no "I didn't sleep well" or "I feel a bit funny", and I trained to be the best and to beat everyone else on their best day. In the past, I focused on doing very hard climbs that pushed me to my limit, but now it's nice to try climbs that might be a bit tricky or weird, but not immediately at the cutting edge. It's also great to get back to my roots and connect with the climbing community way more than I used to.

Because the competition wall is so elite, I did isolate myself massively to get where I wanted to be, but rock climbing has reopened my whole world of climbing.'

OVERCOMING INJURY