Berghaus athlete Molly Thompson-Smith has added to her haul of climbing trophies after a weekend of success in Sheffield. Thompson-Smith won both the British Junior and Senior Lead Climbing Championships, as well as the BMC/MCofS Junior Lead Cup, after three rounds of the series. These latest victories come only a few months after the young climbing prodigy won the Junior British Bouldering Championships and the inaugural British Junior Bouldering Cup.

In her five years as an elite junior climber, Molly Thompson-Smith has won 20 national titles, as well as being only the fifth junior British climber to win a European youth cup event. Thompson-Smith has been ranked number one in the world and Europe for her age category. She first won the British senior lead climbing champion at the age of 15, making her the youngest person to win a senior British title.

Outside the UK scene, Thompson-Smith recently competed in her first IFSC Lead Climbing World Cup event of the season in Belgium, as part of a six strong British team. She was the only British climber to qualify for the semi-finals and eventually finish 19th, an excellent achievement at her first senior World Cup event of the year. Thompson-Smith is now ranked in the world’s top 40 for seniors on the back of her strong showing, the highest ranking of any British senior in lead climbing events.

Molly Thompson-Smith comments:

“I was so excited to retain my senior title after a very difficult year. It was nice to climb in front of friends and parents again even if there was quite a bit of pressure! The weekend and the competition have given me confidence and motivation for the last World Cup event of the season in Kranj in Slovenia. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me and sent me their best wishes throughout the season.”

Molly Thompson-Smith’s achievements are also getting her noticed outside the climbing world and she has been included in a list of 24 under 24 year olds who Red Bull believes are the future of London. Find out more about Molly Thompson-Smith on the Berghaus website.

_{Photo courtesy of Molly Thompson-Smith.}