Following competitions in Switzerland and in Slovakia, Czechia hosted the third round of the UIAA Ice Climbing Continental Cup series for 2025-2026 on Saturday 6 December. The event in Brno proved to be the biggest of the season to date with 122 senior athletes from 16 nations competing. An additional 46 athletes contested the youth categories.
In the women’s competition, the gold medal went to Catalina Shirley of the United States, the only athlete to top. The 23-year old maintained her impressive form in UIAA-sanctioned competitions. This was her ninth medal in ten events, covering both lead and speed competitions. Shirley, who was silver medallist in Zilina last weekend, saw off the challenge of Poland’s Olga Kosek, medalling in her first competition this season and Ladina Heller, the 20-year old Swiss athlete, who took bronze, her first podium finish in a senior competition. Shirley’s victory enabled her to close the gap in the seasonal leaderboard. Continental Cup leader Marion Salmon-Thomas had to settle for seventh after two podium finishes in the opening rounds.
The men’s competition saw five athletes top in the final meaning the podium places came down to speed. Jonathan Arthur Brown, Switzerland, proved to be the most nimble finishing in 5:44. His second medal of the season sees him move to third in the overall standings. For 19-year old local athlete Oliver Hamerský, the season had started in exceptional fashion. After claiming his first ever senior medal in Bern (round 1), another second place finish this weekend now sees him top the overall standings. He finished just a second behind Brown. Bronze in the men’s competition, like the women’s, went to a Swiss athlete medalling for the first time. Paul Zurbrügg’s climb of 6:01 enough to oust Florian Gantner for the podium. The two bronzes proved enough for Switzerland to head the team ranking.
Photos from the event will be available in due course.
Round 4 of the Continental season will be staged in Utrecht, Netherlands on Saturday 13 December. This is the last event before the turn of the year. The world level competitions commence in January with Cheongsong, South Korea hosting the first World Cup of the 2025-2026 season.
Current Continental Season Rankings (after three rounds)
Women: (1) M Salmon-Thomas (FRA), 221.5 points; (2) C Shirley (USA) 180 pts; (3) A Louzecka (CZE), 157 pts
Men: (1) O Hamerský (CZE), 185 pts, (2) V Devin (FRA), 166.5 pts, (3) J Brown (SUI), 166 pts
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Photo credit: @mattes_pictures
