Sean McColl

Like many climbers who competed at Tokyo 2020, Canadian born Sean McColl has always dreamt of being an Olympian. The difference is that he played a major part in making it happen.

The announcement of sport climbing’s inclusion into the Olympic Games was particularly special for the 33-year-old, who as president of the IFSC's athlete commission had made several presentations to the IOC on behalf of the sport. He was careful to cite the young demographic of the climbers – and it paid off.

McColl has been a professional climber since he was 19, enjoying a lengthy career – and collecting a diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in between. Returning to climbing, however, helped McColl realise that this is where he felt he belonged, earning over 30 World Cup medals in the course of his career – finding success in lead, and bouldering.

According to Team Canada, he is the only athlete in IFSC history to post a top-eight finish at a World Cup finish in each of the three climbing disciplines. He has won four world titles at the IFSC World Championships in his last eight appearances – with the most recent being 2016.