17-year-old GB Climbing Team member Jack MacDougall finished 3rd last weekend in the IFSC Europe Cup (Boulder) in Chambéry, France, earning his first senior international medal in only his second year on the senior circuit.

Six GB Climbing athletes made semi-finals. Alongside Jack were Sam Butterworth, Joe Xiberras, Eugenie Lee, Zoë Peetermans and Erin McNeice. Jack qualified for the finals in 8th place, while Joe Xiberras qualified in 6th. Erin McNeice narrowly missed out on a finals spot due to attempts and a dropped match on a top hold to finish 9th.

In the men's final, Jack topped two boulders and reached all four Zones to finish 3rd behind Tokyo 2020 Olympic finalist Mickaël Mawem (FRA) and Léo Favot (FRA).

Jack told UKC:

"It was such a great comp with nice blocs and a crazy atmosphere. I'm really happy that I managed to put in a good performance on the day - leaving with a medal was just the perfect end to an already great experience. It's an amazing start to the year so I'm psyched to see what happens next."

Rachel Carr, GB Climbing Coach, said: "GB Climbing had a great start to the year with the majority of the athletes progressing through to semi-finals round, and with two athletes making their first ever senior finals. It's very promising for what's to come for the rest of the year and it's clear that the athletes have been putting the work in to now see it pay off. As always it was a pleasure to support these athletes at the competition, and myself are Liam are looking forward to do it again in a couple weeks' time in Hachioji."

While the rest of his season is not confirmed yet, Jack's next event will be the IFSC World Cup in Salt Lake City in May, potentially followed by some more IFSC World Cup events in both disciplines later on this year. 

"I can only hope that they continue to go as well as this one did!" he said.

Jack lives and trains in Sheffield. Last year, Jack won the IFSC European Youth Cup in Soure, Portugal. 

Boulder Men

Boulder Women