The climbing wall is veteran Jakob Schubert's fountain of youth: 'I feel like I'm doing my first competitions'
In an exclusive interview, the 32-year-old Austrian says he feels he won't 'ever stop climbing.' And while he's guiding the next generation - he's learning from them, too.
Sport Climbing
A veteran climber at age 32, Austrian Jakob Schubert is used to competing against the coming generation.
But on this day, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist and six-time world champion went head-to-head with a seven-year-old – and lost.
The climb was up a thinly-built glass tower on the set of the German TV show Klein gegen Gross (Kids vs. Grown), and the young gymnast – and burgeoning climber – used the moment to topple one of the best in the world in front of an audience of millions.
“He was crazy strong; he just couldn't let go,” laughs Schubert in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com. “It [wasn’t] too humiliating.”
It was a light-hearted moment in what has been a seriously impressive career for Schubert, who in August captured not one but two world championship gold medals (in lead and combined) less than a year ahead of Paris 2024.
And they came some 11 years after his first world title, in 2012.
“This is what makes you even more motivated, trying to keep up with the young guns,” Schubert explains, now addressing the youth movement at the elite level of his sport. “[And I’m] trying to teach them a thing or two, hopefully, too.”
Jakob Schubert: On climbing's 'young guns' & its old guard
After making its Olympic debut in 2021, international climbing has seen a cadre of teens scale to the top of the sport, including world silver medallist in lead Anraku Sorato and Toby Roberts, who captured two World Cups this season.
“If they can learn something from me and I contribute to making them a better climber, that would feel amazing to me,” says Schubert, who made his senior debut in 2007, just months after Anraku was born. “I think it goes vice versa, because I feel like I'm also learning from those young climbers."
Schubert features as part of an “old guard” in the sport, including five-time world champion Adam Ondra and three-time world medallist Alex Megos, both of whom are 30.
“The field in lead (climbing) especially, is stronger than ever,” says Schubert. “I think it's also very interesting for us from the older generation to learn from those young guns: They do movements or techniques that we haven't really considered, maybe. So I think they also help us to improve and together we hopefully get better and better.”
The key to longevity for Schubert?
“When you're under a lot of pressure at these major events, I think it helps to have good surroundings, your family, your friends,” he says. “[You should] feel in a very safe [training] environment where, even if it is not going well, it's not the end of the world. Your life is good, you're happy, and you just keep going and can concentrate on what you can do best.”
Sport climbing as a game of chess
But don’t be fooled: What Schubert still does best is climb, as highlighted by his pair of wins this year, bringing him to 11 career medals at the world championships.
“I think at Worlds, I felt maybe in the shape of my life when it comes down to lead,” he reflects. “I still feel young. I still feel like I'm doing my first competitions. I'm enjoying it so much and I think this gives me a lot of energy.”
Climbing – especially bouldering – is often described as a game of chess: Yes, the physical demands are steep, but the routes up the wall are referred to as problems that need solving, an aspect that melds the requirements of both body and mind.
“I even play some chess,” laughs Schubert, who is also into computer gaming. “What I always love is analysing, just trying to get better at something. That's what I do in [climbing].”
He continues: “I’ve reached a quite high level [in climbing], so I don't really make big steps anymore. You don't improve a lot, but you're trying to make the small steps, try to improve some tiny things. It’s also important to analyse the climbing of others, the people that beat you. What are the things [they do] better than you? And try to learn from them. That's a talent that you need to evolve: Being able to adapt your climbing style.”
“Climbing has so many diverse things that you can improve on, whether it be tactics, the mental game, your technique,” he adds. “That’s how I still improve even with my age, [if] not in the physical ability.
'They give me more energy'
“I don't think I will ever be able to stop,” Schubert says when reflecting on what climbing has meant to him.
But he doesn’t mean competitively: “The approach of a climber is different to other sports. Climbing is almost like a lifestyle. It's just what we love doing the most. It really changed my life when I started climbing.”
Yet having secured a quota spot for Austria for next year’s Olympic Games, the end of his competitive career is nowhere near the front of Schubert’s mind.
“I'm not really thinking about the end because I'm having just as much fun as in the beginning,” he says. “And I think as long as I'm motivated, as long as I'm having fun and also still feel strong and successful and my body is not getting hurt... I will keep going.”
He’s also busy both helping guide and learning from the next generation of climbers who are changing the sport’s own route through history.
The Olympian-versus-seven-year-old climbing showdown was made-for-TV fun, but Schubert is buoyed, too, by the messages of support he receives. One came from a nine-year-old boy, Fabrizio, who told Jakob how much Schubert inspired the youngster’s own journey.
“The fan mail always hit my heart, I would say,” he explains. “But I think those kids don't realise that with these messages, they also inspire me. They give me more energy, more motivation, and I feel I have the responsibility to be a great role model.
“I try as hard as I can to be that for them.”