The World Climbing Europe Championship kicks off this week, as Barcelona, Spain, awards the continental Boulder title from 17 to 19 July at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. A total of 161 athletes will participate, 89 men and 72 women representing 32 nations, in one of the most important events of the European calendar.

Barcelona takes over as host two years on from Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland, where the 2024 edition was held in the immediate aftermath of the Paris Olympics. France's Sam Avezou and Naïlé Meignan won the men's and women's titles there, respectively.

ATHLETES TO WATCH

In the Men's event, Avezou returns to defend his title and is set to face a strong challenge with a stacked field. Great Britain's Toby Roberts, Paris Olympics gold medallist, is coming back to competitions after a short break due to an injury, while Avezou will be joined by a pair of strong French teammates: Mejdi Schalck, ranked third in the Boulder Series presented by Euroholds, and Samuel Richard, who took bronze in the last Spanish-hosted event, the World Climbing Series Comunidad de Madrid 2026, last May.

Belgium's Hannes Van Duysen is another name to watch. The first Belgian athlete to medal at a major international event arrives in Barcelona in good form after climbing in the men's Boulder final in Innsbruck.

Other names to watch include Austria's Nicolai Uznik and his younger brother Timo, Great Britain's Maximillian Milne – who is guaranteed to provide a show – and Italy's Matteo Reusa, a recent gold medal winner at a Europe Series event in Slovakia, also coming to fight for the podium.

In the women's field, reigning champion Naïlé Meignan is not among the entries, leaving the European title open.

France's Oriane Bertone, silver medallist at the Climbing World Championship Seoul 2025, is among the candidates to fill the empty seat; so is her teammate Zélia Avezou, gold medallist at this year's first Boulder Series event in Keqiao, China. Israel's Ayala Kerem arrives in Barcelona as the reigning European vice-champion, after taking silver in Villars two years ago.

Italy's Camilla Moroni, a regular on the World Climbing Series finals, is most definitely another name to follow.

The Championship is also a chance for Europe's rising talents to step onto the front stage. Austria's Jakuba Rauter is in for another round after an incredible Boulder season where she won back-to-back golds in both seniors and youth events, including the Europe Youth Championship one month ago.

Both the women's and men's events will also feature local Spanish teams, headlined by Geila Macia Martin and Guillermo Peinado Franganillo.

A HISTORIC FIRST

The Championship also carries significance beyond the podium. Afraa Mohammad, born in Syria, will become the first athlete to compete for the World Climbing Refugee Team at an international event.

Mohammad was named the first Olympic Refugee Athlete in the history of Climbing in June 2025, an honour supported by the Olympic Refugee Foundation and the International Olympic Committee as she prepares to run for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028. She was also the first recipient of the World Climbing Refugee Athlete Support programme, launched by World Climbing to give refugee athletes around the world the opportunity to train for and compete in top-level competitions.

WHERE TO WATCH

The event is free to attend, with spectators requested to register for a free digital ticket here. For those watching from home, live coverage of the semi-final and Final will be available on the World Climbing Europe YouTube channel.

Saturday, 18 July:

08:30 - Men's Boulder qualification
16:30 - Women's Boulder qualification

Sunday, 19 July:

10:00 - Boulder semi-finals • YouTube
16:00 - Boulder final • YouTube

News and updates about all World Climbing events will be available on the World Climbing website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.