Olympic sport climbing champion, Toby Roberts: ‘I didn’t realise I’d won’

One thing Roberts learned in his rapid trajectory, and implemented at the Olympic Games, was that he likes to keep things simple.

“I think the worst thing for me is to try and over complicate it,” said Roberts, who sported a shock of recently dyed blonde hair ahead of the new season. “I think putting all of these psychological processes in, kind of makes me struggle more. Like a psychologist, I think wouldn’t help me too much. I like to just keep it as routine as possible, just go about my life, have fun.

One of the biggest areas to navigate was the thrill of being in the Olympic Village, with Roberts describing the gym as “probably one of the strongest gyms you’ll ever, ever visit. You’ve got the sprinters, weightlifters, all of these different sports and everyone’s preparing. It’s just a really cool thing to see”.

But the plan was to absorb every bit of the experience.

“We didn’t make it too stressful. It was just me and my coaches just having a good time, and we tried to disassociate the Olympics from actually competing. So, in the end, it was just walking around with friends, training, and then there was a competition on the side, that was the mentality I wanted.”

So, the new four-year cycle to LA 2028 starts with a double header in China, with Lead and Speed competitions in Wujiang from 25-27 April.

With the three disciplines recently announced as standalone events at LA 2028, as opposed to the sport’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, in which the trio all counted toward one medal, and Paris 2024 in which Speed was separated from a combined Boulder and Lead event, there’s some plotting from the athletes to be done on the pathway to California, not least, the IFSC World Championships Seoul, Republic of Korea from 1-28 September.

Regrouping after his Olympic experience, Roberts took some time to reflect.

“I didn’t feel like I’d completed everything just because I’d won Olympic gold,” he explained. “I love climbing and want to improve.

“I’m looking to go into this year with a real aim to try and improve on my weakness because now the Olympics isn’t there, there’s just so many competitions now where I can go and learn as much as possible.”

And as much as Roberts is looking forward to getting back to competition, and the place he feels most comfortable, back on the climbing wall, this time, his introduction will sit a little different.

“Next up, Olympic champion, Toby Roberts.”