Belgians climb to silver and gold at World Championships
Elodie Orbaen and Anak Verhoeven have won silver and gold at the wall climbing world championships in Paris. For the Brussels paraclimber Orbaen it's her second world title. Thanks to her great performance, Verhoeven is now ranked first in the world.
The Belgian selection is returning with two medals from the wall climbing world championships in Paris. In the RP3 category for athletes with a neurological physical disability, Elodie Orbaen won the world title for the second time. The 33-year-old athlete from Brussels climbs using a prosthetic leg, as her left leg is 18 cm shorter than her right. Despite her disability, Orbaen has won several titles in wall climbing, and has also climbed the legendary Mont Blanc.
In the most popular lead competition, Anak Verhoeven had already won the silver medal. For a while the 20-year-old Verhoeven was the only person to reach the top, but in the end the Slovenian Janja Garnbret reached the top slightly faster. Thanks to her silver medal, Verhoeven is now the highest ranked climber in the world. This opens new perspectives for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where wall climbing will make its Olympic debut. Verhoeven continues down the path set by Brussels Muriel Sarkany, who won 1 gold and 4 silver medals at previous wall climbing world championships.