The World Climbing Europe Championship takes place in Laval, France, from 29 to 30 August, with continental Lead and Speed titles on the line. A total of 184 athletes from 27 nations are registered across the two disciplines, setting up one of the deepest fields of the European season.

Laval takes over as host two years after Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland, staged the 2024 edition shortly after the Paris Olympics. Switzerland’s Sascha Lehmann and Italy’s Laura Rogora claimed the men’s and women’s Lead titles respectively, while Poland’s Natalia Kałucka and Italy’s Ludovico Fossali won the Speed crowns.

LEHMANN DEFENDS AS WOMEN’S LEAD TITLE IS UP FOR GRABS

The men’s Lead field features multiple-time World Champion Jakob Schubert of Austria and Czech climbing icon Adam Ondra, alongside Spain’s Alberto Ginés López – the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion and recent World Climbing Series Chamonix 2026 gold medallist.

Italy’s Filip Schenk and Giovanni Placci arrive as established contenders on the World Climbing Series circuit. Defending champion Lehmann returns in pursuit of a second consecutive European title, while France’s Sam Avezou, the 2024 European Boulder champion, adds Lead to a busy summer schedule.

With Rogora absent from the entries, a new women’s Lead champion will be crowned. Austria’s Jessica Pilz, the Paris 2024 bronze medallist, and Great Britain’s Erin McNeice, a regular World Climbing Series podium finisher this season, are among the leading contenders.

France’s Zélia Avezou, silver medallist at last month’s Europe Boulder Championship, will compete alongside Ukraine’s Ievgeniia Kazbekova, the Villars 2024 silver medallist. Kazbekova will be joined by her younger sister, Rafael, one of the sport’s leading junior prospects after winning silver at the World Youth Championships in Arco, Italy, earlier this year.

At Arco 2026, Rafael Kazbekova finished behind Austria’s Anika Deubler in the women’s Under 19 Lead final. Both athletes are set to make the step up to senior European competition in Laval. Spain’s Iziar Martínez Almendros, winner of the most recent World Climbing Europe Series Lead event, also joins the field.

SPEED STARS READY TO RACE

Fossali travels to Laval to defend his men’s Speed title. He will face Switzerland’s Gilles Meili, who arrives in strong form after winning gold at the World Climbing Europe Series in Žilina, Slovakia, and silver one week later in St. Pölten, Austria.

Ukraine’s Hryhorii Ilchyshyn set a new European record in the Speed Relay at the World Climbing Series event in Kraków, Poland, earlier this year and will bring that momentum into the individual competition. Poland’s Marcin Dzieński, his country’s first Speed world champion back in 2016, will also race for the title.

In the women’s event, Poland’s Aleksandra Mirosław, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion, has announced that Laval 2026 will be her final competition. She will line up alongside defending champion Natalia Kałucka and her twin sister Aleksandra, who has been among the fastest climbers in the world this season, giving Poland three genuine medal contenders.

Ukraine also brings considerable depth, led by Polina Khalkevych, winner at the World Climbing Europe Series in Žilina, alongside Mariia Shymkova, Daria Tkachova and Kseniia Horielova. Italy’s Giulia Randi, who broke the national women’s Speed record en route to silver at the World Climbing Series in Chamonix this year, and teammate Sara Strocchi, the reigning European under 19 silver medallist, add further strength to the field.

SCHEDULE AND STREAMING

The schedule of the World Climbing Europe Championship Laval 2026 is as follows:

Saturday, 29 August (UTC+2:00):

08:00 - Lead qualifications
13:00 - Speed qualifications
19:00 - Speed finals - YouTube

Sunday, 30 August:

09:00 - Lead semi-finals
15:00 - Lead finals - YouTube

Lead and Speed finals will be livestreamed on the World Climbing Europe YouTube channel, while French television channel 8 Mont-Blanc will also broadcast both final rounds live for audiences in France.

NEXT UP

The European calendar of senior competitions will conclude in Leipzig, Germany, with a Speed competition taking place on 4 October.

All European events will be live streamed on the World Climbing Europe YouTube channel. 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.