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When Toby Roberts was confirmed as Olympic sport climbing champion, tears began to roll down the cheeks of his father and coach Tristan. Nearby, Roberts’ three siblings – sisters Katie and Emma and brother James – and mother Marina watched in a state of delirious shock.
They are a close-knit family, but none of them can really understand how their brother calmly scaled the 15-metre wall at Le Bourget to claim an unexpected gold medal. In fact, they are terrified of it. “We all hate heights,” James told Telegraph Sport, shortly after Roberts received her gold medal.
“It’s true, we’re all afraid of heights and he’s climbing this rock wall,” Marina adds. “He’s always wanted to climb outside. I know he’s safe because he’s tied to a rope, but still. It’s a moment when you always think: ‘Gosh, he’s not afraid.’”
“It’s absolutely crazy what he’s done. Toby is incredible, but anything can happen in climbing. It was crazy to see him win, we were all on the edge of our seats, with our hearts in our mouths.”
Setting records at 10 years old
Surrey-born Roberts is just 19 and one of 16 teenagers to have won gold for Great Britain. While he was not the favourite in the men’s combined endurance and bouldering event, he has always been a prodigal talent.
He only started climbing at the age of seven in an introductory after-school session, but describes having a “natural desire to climb” trees and even to climb out of his crib as a baby.
He was immediately hooked on the sport and by the age of 10 was already breaking records, becoming the youngest Briton to climb the 8a Raindogs route at Malham Cove in North Yorkshire. He later ticked other challenging outdoor routes off his list and set his sights on competitive climbing. In 2022, aged 17, he became the first British climber in 28 years to win a World Cup medal in the hard discipline.
Roberts blushes slightly when asked why his fellow competitors nickname him “Terminator,” due to his steel climbing style. “It’s not a nickname that I’ve given myself,” he says with a smile. “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
With adrenaline pumping, he is a fierce competitor. On Friday, Roberts, who started as the second-to-last climber on the competition’s lead section, was in “isolation” waiting for his turn. Competitors are not allowed to use phones, so he had an MP3 player and blasted Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” to “get motivated.”
‘Toby has always been a bit of an oddball’
All his family members describe him as a person with a remarkable capacity for self-management from childhood. Roberts eschewed the well-trodden path of joining a club like most serious young climbers and opted for a more individual approach, with his father on hand to help him at all times as a coach.
As his father, Tristan, had never climbed before, he set about learning everything he could about the sport and, together with his son, discovered it by travelling around the world to compete in competitions. They describe the road to Paris as a “six-year strategy”, before climbing was confirmed as an Olympic sport for Tokyo 2020.
“Toby has always been a bit of an outsider, so he’s never been part of a club or a team,” says his mother Marina. “He’s very determined in everything he does. He sets himself challenges, that’s all. He picks things out, he’s never satisfied.”
“He’s found his own way,” Tristan adds later. “We’ve learned as we go. Maybe the infrastructure wasn’t there[at first]and we hope it’s been developing all the time, but what we always thought is that now that he’s this age there’s no time to wait for everything to fall into place. I think that’s one of the things that has defined him over the years. If there’s one choice we can make as a family to make sure that happens, that’s what we’ve done.”
“This is a lot of years of work, but the hard work comes from him – the training to become the most incredible athlete. Ever since he decided this was what he wanted to do, when he was 10, he’s just given it his all, every day. I’ve never had to tell him to try harder. The motivation and drive comes from within. That’s been going on for 10 years. I think that’s why he’s one of the youngest. He’s been very professional about it.”
That infrastructure could well be coming, as a gold medal is expected to boost funding for young British climbers.
Off the wall, Roberts is a Red Bull athlete and YouTuber. He’s just as comfortable sharing his climbing exploits as he is his beauty routine. Keeping the skin on your hands and fingers in good condition is key for climbers, and his go-to products are Elizabeth Arden.
His 48,000 subscribers will no doubt soar following his exploits in Paris. In true Gen Z fashion, with the gold medal hanging around his neck, Roberts’ final words to the group of journalists at Le Bourget were: “I’m excited to create content.”
