First Swiss Cup Victory - 30. April 2014

Time is flying by and this past weekend it was already time for the first national competition of the season in Fribourg. At the same time, the first Bouldering Worldcup was taking place in China. Since Petra was competing in China and Rebekka had an event at school she couldn’t miss, the two strongest female competitors were missing. Of course I played with the thought of being able to win but I knew there would be enough other strong girls competing and it wasn’t going to be easy at all. I’ve been climbing just outside the week before the comp and even though I felt pretty good on rock, I wasn’t sure how well I could transfer back to plastic. I was happy to finish off Sündenfall (7B) at Magic Wood, a beautiful and quite tall line with big moves, such a great climb! The first move has a bit of a scary landing and it took me a few tries to fully commit but it turned out to be totally fine. Beside that, I made progress on some of my projects and tried lots of new problems.

I knew climbing outside had improved my technique and most of all my finger strength. Yet it still made me a bit nervous not being on plastic for so long right before a competition. So I went to Fribourg a bit unsure what to expect but definitely ready to give my best and see what’s possible. Qualifiers were rather easy and I could flash all problems except for a tricky little slab for which I needed a second try.

This made me go into finals first place which meant I was climbing last. I find that rather stressful because you can usually tell how well the others performed by the time they need and the reaction of the crowd which really puts you under pressure. Nevertheless, I had a good start and managed to flash the first problem. On the second boulder, I tried a too dynamic approach at first and when I finally figured out how to do it, I ran out of time. I knew Anne-Sophie Koller was the only one to reach the top and she also did the first one, which made me fall back behind her. I tried to calm myself and focus on the remaining two boulders. Number three was a tricky mantle slab. I had an idea how I wanted to try it but wasn’t sure if it would work. After I failed on my first attempt I was lucky on my second try and made it to the bonus hold. With really shaky knees I managed my way up to the top, almost slipping off at the very end. The final boulder was probably the hardest and nobody got to the top. Since Anne-Sophie couldn’t do number three and I needed less tries for my two tops, I finished first!! Although Petra and Rebekka were missing, I’m really happy with my first victory in an adult competition and I was surprised how well I could handle the pressure. Congratulations to Anne-Sophie Koller and Noemi Langenkamp for finishing second and third.

Kevin Hemund won the men’s final followed by Samuel Ometz and newcomer Marvin Silva, who once more proved he’s in really good shape. Meanwhile Petra almost made finals in China and reached a very good 8th place, congratulations!
Now I can’t wait for Grindelwald (10./11. May), which is not only my first Worldcup of the season but also special because I’ll be climbig in front of my home crowd. We’re all looking forward to your support, see you there!