Molly Thompson-Smith, centre, takes to the winner's podium

Molly Thompson-Smith, centre, takes to the winner's podium

A rising star of competition climbing has recovered from a potentially career-threatening injury to claim her fifth national title.

Molly Thompson-Smith clinched the British lead-climbing title in Edinburgh at the weekend.

Her victory came after a serious finger injury sustained while climbing. The 20-year-old underwent an operation and intensive rehabilitation to put her back on the route to the championship.

In the British lead-climbing championships at Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, she topped both her qualifying routes and then did the same in the final, securing victory in the competition on count back. Thompson-Smith has never been beaten in the British senior lead climbing event.

She said: “This year was a hard one for me. I had such high expectations after a great season in 2017, so to have to sit on the sidelines and rehab a serious injury for the majority of the season wasn’t exactly what I had planned.

“However, I’m really happy with what I managed to turn this year into, and to finish it with a win at the national championships is such a positive way to end 2018 and close the door on my injury.

“I felt a lot of pressure during this competition as it was the first time that I had competed on home turf in quite a while, and the standards were much higher than the last time I took part in the event two years ago.

“I’m happy with my current shape and the progress I’ve made in the short time I’ve had back climbing. I can’t wait to start training for next season and see what I can do then.”

The Berghaus-supported athlete is a member of the Great Britain climbing team and has her sights on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which will include the three disciplines of lead and speed climbing and bouldering.

The Sky Sports scholar began climbing at the age of seven, after choosing to have a climbing birthday party at the Westway Sports Centre in London.

She soon developed a passion for climbing and her talent was identified and nurtured at her local club. Thompson-Smith has 20 national junior and senior titles to her name and has earned a growing international reputation.

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