From August 8 to 10, Bern, Switzerland will play host to the IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships, where more than 200 athletes from 25 nations will fight for world crowns in 20 different categories.

After competing in three World Cup competitions, commencing in Salt Lake City, USA, moving on to Innsbruck, Austria, and concluding in Villars, Switzerland, the paraclimbers’ attention is focused on securing a podium finish and a medal at the World Championships.

In 2023, a select group of competitors displayed excellent form, with many climbers winning three gold medals in all three World Cup competitions.

Solenne Piret of France competes in the Women’s AU2 and is one of them athletes. Even though they frequently stand on the top step of the podium, the build-up has been a little less orderly this time.

“Training has been a bit weird for me this year as I have moved to Briançon, and I have only been able to train in my garage gym. They have a new wall, but when I moved, they were still building it so I didn’t have the chance to use it. I moved to be closer to the mountains and thought I could train that way, but for competition it’s been mainly garage based,” declared Piret.

There are climbers who are moving onto Bern with gold medals in their pockets, keeping in mind the adage “you are only as good as your last competition,” and the fact that the previous World Cup was also held in Switzerland with Villars as the host city.

These competitors are: France’s Maxime Meyer in the men’s AU3, Germany’s Kevin Bartke in the men’s RP2, Austria’s Angelino Zeller in the men’s RP1, Japan’s Takano Tadashi in the men’s RP3, the United States’ Melissa Ruiz in the women’s RP1, and France’s Hamanoue Fumiya in the men’s B2.

In the commentary box for the 2018 IFSC Climbing World Championships, Shauna Coxsey will lend her expertise in the climbing sport. “Commentating on the climbers’ Olympic journey with Eurosport and the IFSC is an honor and a privilege,” said Coxsey. “As an Olympian, I understand how important the upcoming year will be for the athletes.”

Shauna Coxsey MBE, an Olympian and the president of the IFSC Athletes’ Commission, will be providing commentary for the upcoming IFSC Climbing World Championships, which will be broadcast live on Eurosport and Discovery+, the IFSC and Warner Bros. Discovery are happy to announce.

Coxsey will contribute her distinct Olympic experience while commentating on the IFSC Climbing World Championships from August 1–12, a crucial competition on the route to Paris 2024, which will mark Sport Climbing’s second appearance at the Olympic Games. With little under a year until the opening of the Paris Games, when Sport Climbing will make its second appearance.

Coxsey will follow the aspirants to the Olympics from the opening competition in Bern, Switzerland, through the European qualifying competition in Laval, France, in October.

Climbers will participate in a new Boulder & Lead (B&L) format in addition to distinct Boulder, Lead, and Speed categories in Bern. This format will be utilized at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Ten qualifying spots for Paris 2024 will be up for grabs in the Swiss capital, with six in Boulder & Lead and four in Speed.

Coxsey will also share the TV booth with veteran IFSC commentator Matt Groom, to which Coxsey expressed: “it is an honor and a privilege to be commentating on the climbers’ Olympic journey with Eurosport and the IFSC.” Her works make sense since her previous IFSC broadcasting work was received by the climbing community very positively.

“The IFSC World Championships Bern 2023 is perfectly poised with a host of exciting new faces alongside the established names clicking into form, so I cannot wait to get behind the microphone with Matt Groom to commentate on who gets the first tickets to Paris 2024.”

“As an Olympian, I know how much these next 12 months will mean to the athletes, so I am looking forward to providing insights as the climbers battle it out against the wall for an Olympic place.”

The most decorated sport climber in Great Britain, Coxsey, has competed in IFSC competitions before. She won the Boulder World Cup in 2016 and 2017 after winning back-to-back silver medals in 2014 and 2015. After fulfilling a childhood desire to compete at the Olympics in Tokyo 2020, when the sport had its Olympic debut, she retired in 2021. She placed 10th in the combined Lead, Boulder, and Speed race.

Marco Scolaris, IFSC president, said: “Shauna’s knowledge, skills, and expertise will be of invaluable assistance to our viewers during the broadcasts (…) Her appointment will provide fans with the deep insights of an expert climber and the inspirational, behind-the-scenes stories of an Olympian who accomplished everything she set out to in our sport.”