Climbing at the Games: women’s bouldering crowns medallists | OneFootball

Anja Köhler, Martina Castro, and María Valentina Aguado reflected on the final in Santa Fe 2026. The athletes highlighted the intensity of the competition and the support from the crowd.

The women’s boulder final in sport climbing left more than just medals at the South American Games: it also showed the importance of focus, technique, and the pressure of solving each move in just a few attempts.

The event winner, Brazil’s Anja Köhler, especially emphasized the experience of competing in a multi-sport event. “Being able to win here is simply incredible. It’s something different from everything I imagined,” she said.

Köhler also praised the crowd’s support during the competition and explained that the cheers became an extra boost with every attempt: “every time you made a move, everyone cheered, and that pushed you even more.”

Chile’s Martina Castro, for her part, also finished satisfied after a final in which she said she gave it everything. “I almost broke my neck on the last boulder, but I’m very happy with the medal and to be able to take part in this stage,” she commented.

For Castro, a large part of the competition is decided before the climbing even begins. “I think climbing is 60% mental: reading the boulder well, having a clear mind. The rest is all the physical training you’ve been doing.” She also highlighted “that energy we have in Latin America of supporting everyone” and praised the atmosphere in the stands during the final.

Lastly, Argentina’s María Valentina Aguado, bronze medalist, admitted she had expected a little more, although she emphasized the result: “I’m very happy with the bronze. I was aiming for a little more, so sometimes it’s a bit frustrating, but in the end I’m happy with how things turned out.” When analyzing the event, she said the difficulty lay in the variety of the challenges. “The final was very intense, entertaining. They set very complex problems, different from each other, where every attempt counted.”

Aguado also highlighted the support of the crowd and celebrated having competed in front of “full stands,” on a day when the backing from the spectators was one of the common points emphasized by all three medalists.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.