Four climbers named in Great Britain squad for Paris Olympics

Three years after their sport made its debut at the Tokyo Games, four British climbers have been given the chance to scale Olympic heights in Paris next month.

Toby Roberts and Hamish McArthur will become the first British men to compete in their sport, and are joined by Molly Thompson-Smith and Erin McNeice.

It concludes a hugely successful qualification process for the GB climbing team, which was represented by a single athlete, Shauna Coxsey, on its inaugural appearance in the Japanese capital.

Nineteen-year-old Roberts, who last year became the first British climber to win a World Cup in two different disciplines, lead and boulder, said: “It feels pretty crazy.

“I’ve trained for so long to try and qualify for the Olympics, and I remember getting so psyched watching Shauna in Tokyo and realising I wanted to go after that place in Paris.

“I always knew it was a possibility but I also knew how much hard work and training it would take. I made a training plan and hit all my targets and it is exciting to have finally made it.”

Roberts’ three team-mates have all achieved success in the international stage with 23-year-old McArthur heading to the Games as a former double youth world champion.

For Thompson-Smith, who also lit up the junior ranks, selection comes three years after her hopes of making Tokyo were hampered by injury, while McNeice won bronze medals at successive qualifiers to seal her place.