IFSC Sport Climbing African Qualifier 2023: South Africa's Lauren Mukheibir and Mel Janse van Rensburg secure combined Paris 2024 Olympic quotas
Mukheibir and Janse van Rensburg spearheaded South African podium sweeps in the women's and men's combined boulder and lead competition at the IFSC Sport Climbing African Qualifier 2023 on home soil in Pretoria on Saturday (9 December).
Two-time continental champion Mel Janse van Rensburg captured the last remaining Olympic sport climbing quota for Paris 2024 winning the men’s combined competition at the IFSC African Qualifier in Pretoria, South Africa on Saturday (9 December).
Janse van Rensburg led a South African 1-2-3 beating Tokyo 2020 Olympian Christopher Cosser after topping the rankings in both the boulder and lead rounds.
The 22-year-old found some rhythm successfully navigating the final two problems in the boulder phase before doing the same in the lead for a combined total of 168.9 points. Cosser (164.4) had to settle for second place after also completing the lead route with teenager Nicholas Allan finishing third (136.9).
Earlier, Lauren Mukheibir won the women’s combined competition leading a South African podium sweep with a total of 109.0 points with Rauen Krohn finishing as runner-up on 108.8. Caitlin Bouwer finished in a distant third place on 49.8.
The 22-year-old Mukheibir beat Krohn by a fraction to secure the top sport courtesy of her performance in the boulder phase where she was the only climber to make a top. Krohn was the best climber in the lead competition but fell painstakingly short once both scores were tallied.
The entire field in the final consisted of local climbers with Uganda’s Sheilla Abuko and Doriane Saramandif of Mauritius – the only representatives of other African nations – missing the cut in the semi-final.
Krohn would rue lost chances after she dominated the semi-final where she was the best climber in both the boulder and lead rounds. She delivered a near-flawless performance in the boulder competition successfully navigating all four problems.
The boulder round in the final proved to be the great equaliser with Mukheibir managing to top the second problem for a score of 29 with Krohn biting at her heels with 24.7. Although Krohn bowed out in the lead phase as the top climber it was not enough to erase her countrywomen’s advantage.
Three-time African champion Mukheibir represented South Africa at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, United States where she finished 12th in the speed and lead disciplines and 11th in bouldering.
“I’m going to Paris. I still can’t believe it! My parents were here, my godfather was here, and pretty much the whole team from my gym in Johannesburg, they have all had my back since day one. I’m so happy that they were here to witness this," Mukheibir told IFSC afterwards.
“I’m not gonna lie, the boulders felt really hard, but also so cool. I would love to get the chance to try them again. I started getting very nervous just before the Lead, so I’ve locked everything out and climbed my heart out. I had so much fun.”
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
