Sean McColl

Sean McColl

McColl competing at the 2012 Bouldering World Cup in Munich
Personal information
Name	Sean McColl
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1987-09-03) 3 September 1987 North Vancouver, Canada
Residence	Toulouse, France
Climbing career
Major ascents	Dreamcatcher (5.14d), second ascent Nagual (V13), flash
Updated on 15 July 2013.

Sean McColl (born 3 September 1987) is a professional rock climber from North Vancouver, Canada. He competes in the lead climbing, speed climbing, and bouldering disciplines, and has won major competitions in all three.

Biography

Sean McColl was born on 3 September 1987^[1] in North Vancouver, Canada.^[2] As of July 2013, he lives and trains in Toulouse, France.^[3] He is sponsored by Mammut, Walltopia, HRT, Joe Rockheads, La Sportiva and Skratch. ^[4]

Competitions

McColl at the final event of the Bouldering World Cup 2012

McColl winning second place at the final event of the Bouldering World Cup 2012

Sean McColl found early success while training with the Canada Youth National Climbing Team.^{[5]:p. 34–38} He won the gold medal in lead climbing in his age group at the 2002, 2003, and 2004 Youth World Championships. In 2006, he won in both the lead and speed climbing categories, and was beginning to break into the top 20 finishes at adult competitions.^[6] In February 2011, McColl won first place at the 12th Annual ABS Nationals bouldering competition in Boulder, Colorado.^[7]

2012 was McColl's most successful competition season to date, with 10 podium finishes at major climbing competitions.^[2] In September, McColl competed in the IFSC Climbing World Championships, where he placed second in lead climbing and fourth in bouldering. Although he did not win either event, he earned enough points to secure first place in the overall competition.^[8] Two months later, he went to the PanAmerican Championships in Venezuela. He took first place in lead climbing and second place in bouldering, making him the first Canadian athlete to reach the podium at the competition.^[9]

In May 2013, McColl earned his first Bouldering World Cup win at an event in Log Dragomer. He was the only male competitor to solve three of the four finals problems, taking first place over Jan Hojer and Dmitri Sarafutdinov.^[10] One week later, McColl took fourth place at the World Cup in Innsbruck.^[11] He placed fourth once again in June at the World Cup event in Vail.^[12]

Notable ascents

In September 2009, McColl claimed the second ascent of Dreamcatcher, a sport route in Squamish, British Columbia. Rated 5.14d on the Yosemite Decimal System, Dreamcatcher is considered one of the hardest climbing routes in Canada. It was first established and climbed by Chris Sharma in 2005, and was unrepeated for four years despite efforts by Sonnie Trotter and Paul Robinson.^[13]

In March 2012, McColl competed in the Hueco Rock Rodeo, an annual outdoor bouldering competition in Hueco Tanks, Texas. During the competition, he completed Nagual (rated V13 on the V-scale) in one attempt, an accomplishment known as a "flash". McColl is one of few climbers to have flashed a bouldering problem with such a high degree of difficulty.^[14]

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Notes