Zoe Leibovitch ’15 stared up at the 15-meter wall in front of a sea of spectators at the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships in Noumea, New Caledonia.
Her heart pounded as she took her place and the timer counted down. At the sound of the buzzer, Leibovitch launched herself up the wall, scaling it in 14.93 seconds and earning herself a 12th place finish.
Viewers around the world also tuned in to watch the live stream as Leibovitch competed in the female junior speed division against other 17-19 year old climbers from around the world.
“Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous when I was walking out to do my first climb. I was psyched to be there and competing with girls at that level. They take the best of the best from each country, so for everyone I’m competing against, it’s their life,” said Leibovitch.
The competition, which lasted from September 19th-23rd, welcomed around 1000 climbers from 70 countries and five continents for two trials: speed and lead climbing.
“It was honestly an unforgettable experience. I met talented climbers from all over the world, and it was super inspiring. It’s made me motivated to train harder and eventually be as good as some of these people there,” said Leibovitch.
Leibovitch competed in two initial and two final runs, and her best time determined her rank.
Leibovitch entered the competition at a disadvantage; she had only trained on the first ten meters of the 15-meter route, while her competitors had been training on the full 15-meter route. Leibovitch also did not arrive early to train and was forced to fight off jet lag.
“I didn’t feel the pressure when I was on the wall and climbed the best I could. I ended up with a pretty solid time for what I was capable of,” said Leibovitch.
Leibovitch qualified for the World Championship by placing second at the Division Championship and sixth at the National Championship with an expert time of 7.4 seconds on the ten-meter wall earlier this year. The two top finishes earned Leibovitch a spot on the U.S. National Team.
When she wasn’t climbing at the World Championship, Zoe cheered on the rest of the U.S. team, made up of over 50 climbers aged 14-19. Leibovitch also attended team meetings and award ceremonies for her teammates that placed in the Top Three.
“I love climbing because it’s a very social sport. I get to be around so many people that I’ve known forever and that I love. At all the traveling and pro competitions, I’ve been able to meet so many people that it makes the actual climbing way more fun. I’m doing what I love with great people,” said Leibovitch.
Leibovitch started climbing when she was seven at the MetroRock Climbing Center in Everett, M.A. Leibovitch began competing in Nationals at the age of eight and has competed in Nationals every subsequent year.
Leibovitch first qualified for the national team at the age of 12 and has made the team for the past two years in a row. This was the first year she qualified for the World Championship.
Leibovitch is also sponsored by Lululemon and Evolve and has been competing in pro competitions for the past three years.
“If there’s a competition I most enjoy, it’s pro competitions for bouldering. I’m competing against such an advanced field that it gets me pumped, and the route requires a lot more thinking and power,” said Leibovitch.
Following her return from the World Championships, Leibovitch has begun training for a bouldering pro competition in Canada this weekend. Leibovitch is also training for the Pan American Youth Climbing Championships in Mexico this November, where she will compete in bouldering and speed.
“I was really psyched that I made it to Worlds for the first time, so that was definitely a long standing goal of mine. Right now, I want to keep training and pushing myself to do better and hopefully podium in the upcoming competitions,” said Leibovitch.
With a host of accolades to her name at just 17 years old, one can only expect Leibovitch to keep climbing to the top.
