20 year old Molly Thompson-Smith won bronze in the final round of the IFSC Lead World Cup in Kranj, Slovenia this weekend. This is the first medal won by a British female competitor in a senior IFSC lead event. Two-time boulder World Cup champion Shauna Coxsey competed in what was her first ever lead World Cup and achieved a respectable 6th place in the event. Shauna also took bronze in the combined ranking for 2017. Jakob Schubert (AUT) and Janja Garnbret (SLO) were the winners of the round.
Team GB's Molly Thompson-Smith on the World Cup podium in 2017.
"The season's been more than I could ever hope for. We have Shauna doing so well in bouldering and lead has almost been forgotten a little bit - so it's great to finally get a good result for GB in lead and I'm so proud of that.
"A top-10 goal was my aim for the season and maybe reach a final, so to win the medal is incredible."
Molly Thompson-Smith on her way to her first senior World Cup medal.
Molly reached four finals this year and placed 7th in the overall rankings. She is also due to compete in the China Open in Guangzhou next weekend. This autumn, Molly announced her selection as a Sky Sports Scholar, which she hopes will assist her in climbing full-time and achieving her goals as she works towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Shortly before departing for Slovenia, Molly ticked Mecca - The Mid-life Crisis (8b+) 8b+ at Raven Tor, her first of the grade.
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Shauna's 3rd place in the combined event - thanks to her performance across the 2017 boulder World Cup season and in this latest lead event in Kranj - is the first combined medal won by a British woman.
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