Toby Roberts: “Hard fight” for gold

Roberts, who now wears the gold medal and the iron piece of the Eiffel Tower around his neck, is the first to admit that this exact moment was long predetermined.

It was six years ago, shortly before sport climbing was included in the Olympic programme, when the Briton and his father-coach Tristan Roberts first developed the strategy to bring the mountaineer to the peak of his sport.

Roberts’ father, Tristan Roberts, discovered by chance at an after-school event listing when he was eight years old that he had developed an insatiable passion for climbing and knew immediately that his son’s talent needed to be nurtured.

“It’s not normal how addicted he is,” Tristan Roberts once recalled in an interview with Olympics.com about his son a year ago.

But without any experience in sport climbing, the family didn’t know what to do. Then Tristan Roberts decided to put in the effort and study technology, history and culture to help his son make it big as a coach. Just as Roberts grew into an athlete, his father also did so as a coach.

Although it may sound experimental, even risky, Roberts’ performance today is testament to the tenacity behind their shared triumph. And it was precisely this quality – tenacity – that allowed Roberts to find his limits in the finale.

One moment in particular stood out. During the challenging bouldering round, the Brit struggled to find what he later described as a “really good flow” and on the third problem he came to life.

Of all the problems presented to the audience, the third round of the bouldering competition was undoubtedly the most difficult. The climbers had to overcome an overhang, testing their strength and cunning, but also simply their energy reserves.

Hamish McArthurRoberts’ colleague from the British team fell onto his back as he came painfully close to the final hold. He lay there for more than half a minute, staring up at the sky, exhausted because his enormous effort had been thwarted.

Three climbers were able to score a total of zero points for the problem, that’s how difficult it was.

But not Roberts. Wherever he dared, he accepted.

“The third boat was right up my alley,” Roberts reflected after what he admitted was a “really tough” boulder section. “It was really a tough battle and I had to give it my all to get to the top.”

“I’m glad I had some good fights.”