South African sport climber, Katleho Pobe (19) may have competed in three World Cups and four World Youth Championships, but he is still a little scared of falling.
“You fall a lot in the sport but it is a good self-esteem builder because you learn to fail and rise above it,” he said.
The young member of the South African lead and boulder sport climbing teams trains at City Rock, an indoor rock climbing gym in Fontainebleau, where he is also a route setter.
He explained that boulder climbing involved shorter walls but climbing without ropes.
Lead, which is his favourite form of sport climbing, involves climbing tall walls with chains spread along a specific route to the top. Climbers link their ropes to the different chains on the way up.
“Boulder climbing requires shorter and powerful moves, which is not my style. Lead is more fun because I like being on the wall for longer.”
In his nine years of sport climbing, Pobe has competed in 12 South African Championships (boulder and lead are separate) and has taken eight second-place finishes and three thirds.
In September, he finished 48th at the World Cup in Scotland in September, which historically is good for a South African, and he is very happy for it.
“I went there with no expectations and had a blast. I learnt how to use the wall itself to climb, like its corners and cracks. As a route setter, it was also inspiring to see the routes they created.”
Pobe said his greatest challenge was actually at Waterval Boven in Mpumalanga, where a stretch of outdoor rock climbing got the better of him four times before he was able to conquer it.
“When you reach the top and link the chain, you feel like dancing.”
City Rock general manager, Cally Bishop said the gym was very proud of Pobe and encouraged by him.
“He has such a passion to climb and is always positive in everything in life,” she said.
Pobe is now preparing for the 202 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he hopes to represent South Africa again.
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