When climbing’s Tokyo 2020 debut was announced in 2016, 12-year-old Toby Roberts from Surrey was “instantly hooked” by an Olympic dream but he would be too young to compete in Japan. Instead he hatched an eight-year plan targeting the 2024 Games, with non-climber dad Tristian supporting as rope-holder, coach, taxi “and bank” – even building a climbing wall in the garden of the family home. This summer their shared ambition will culminate high on the Olympic walls in Paris.
Roberts is now 19 and his love for his sport is stronger than ever. He says more than 20 times during this interview that “I love climbing/training/competing/trying hard”. His parents Tristian and Marina couldn’t be prouder. “It’s been a privilege – it’s inspiring to see how hard he works,” Tristian says.
Roberts’ unwavering tenacity developed from his first moves 10 years ago at an after-school club, when he wouldn’t give up on a climb. “It was so natural for me to give everything every time I pulled on to the wall. I just love trying hard,” Toby says.
Despite collecting junior international medals and record-breaking rock climbs with Tristian in tow, Roberts’ rapid rise at senior level was unexpected. During the pandemic, he built strength on his dad’s DIY climbing wall. “I absolutely levelled-up,” he says. After lockdown, Tristian rented accommodation in Austria, enabling Roberts to train in world-class facilities.
The sacrifices paid off. In his first senior year in 2022, he placed third in a Lead (roped climbing) World Cup in Edinburgh, earning the nickname “Toby the Terminator” for his gutsiness. “Getting my first World Cup medal in a home event got me so psyched to train for the next season,” he says.
2023 was Robert’s breakout year. In Italy he won gold in a Boulder (short, unroped climbs) World Cup, a victory earned on his last attempt in the last seconds of the competition. “It was a fairytale ending,” he says. “All those years of training suddenly became worth it. It still gets my heart pumping.”
Afterwards Roberts drank his first pint of beer, a less invigorating experience. “It was pretty disappointing,” he says. “It didn’t leave me wanting another one.” Tristian observes that his son’s deadpan humour often produces “savage one-liners”.
Weeks later in France Roberts won a Lead World Cup, confidently hyping the crowd prematurely as Tristian fretted: “I’m like, just get to the top first!” He was the first Briton to win gold in two disciplines, joining an elite group including Czech legend Adam Ondra and Austrian Olympic bronze medallist Jakob Schubert.
For Roberts, being competitive with idols who have climbed for longer than he has been alive is “surreal”. Tristian shares a photo of a starstruck, pre-teen Roberts posing with Ondra. “I’ve always looked up to them and to be competing alongside them, it hasn’t really sunk in,” Roberts says.
But mounting expectations unsettled Roberts in the world championships last August at the first opportunity to qualify for Paris in “Boulder and Lead” combined. He placed fifth, missed the podium cut and felt “pretty gutted”, yet his disappointment was merely a marker of just how high he had set the bar.
The father-son bond helped Roberts to refocus. “I know exactly what’s got him here,” Tristian says. “The conversations we’ve had over 10 years, debriefing, processing and getting into the competition mindset. It’s a big thing,” he says.
When the World Cup event came to France in October, in which only the winner could qualify for the Games, Roberts was ready. “I had to remember why I climb and to enjoy it. That really helped me get rid of any pressure or baggage which means you don’t climb well,” he says.
He won before he had even finished the final route but continued to the top. “Hearing the crowd’s massive cheer, knowing that I’d qualified for the Olympics with only five moves to go, then sticking that last move: it was the best competition of my entire life,” he says, channelling the nostalgia of a seasoned competitor.
A tearful Tristian hugged his son afterwards. “I have no idea how he just came out and had the least pressure on him,” he says.
The Olympic rollercoaster is underway. Roberts appeared on the BBC’s Great British Menu (the figs were “enlightening”). Tokyo 2020 Olympian Shauna Coxsey has shared advice. He climbed on an Olympic bouldering wall replica in London, managing the “fine balance” of training two disciplines and documenting his journey on YouTube.
Earlier this month in China, Roberts won a Lead World Cup and placed fourth in Boulder. “Preparation for Paris is going well after a hard winter’s training,” he says.
In Paris Tristian will watch “more as a parent” with a racing pulse, the coach’s job done. Toby won’t forget who held his ropes and followed his ups and downs. “My family has got my back and helped me to be the best I can be,” he says. “I’m incredibly thankful for their support.”
As murmurs of medal potential amplify, Roberts will approach Paris as “just another ordinary competition”, taking it one move at a time and harnessing his love for climbing, letting go of expectations and leaving his metaphorical “baggage” on the ground.
“It’s a balance between ‘I’m at the Olympics!’ and ‘I’m just here to climb’”, he says. “The main aim is to win gold and I’ll try my best, but I just want to enjoy it. I’m really excited to just experience the Olympics.”