Teen dominate sport climbing nationals

Teenaged climbers have dominated the Australian national bouldering championship, proving the future of the sport grows younger with each competition.

Maya Stasiuk, 15, took out the women's event followed by 19-year-old Jordyn Damasco and Australian Ninja Warrior Judith Carroll.

In a major upset, youngsters upstaged the men's finalists from the last nationals 

Twins Liam and Sam Healy, 25, came first and third respectively while 16-year-old Dylan Parks placed second in his nationals debut. 

Chairman of Sports Climbing Australia John Crowley said the rise of teen stars was unexpected.

"It's quite surprising, they're all very young," he said. "But these guys will be our next Olympic climbers."

To others in the climbing community, the result was inevitable.

The 2022 contest was the first nationals-level championship since 2019. 

Yossi Sundakov-Krumins, who sets walls at Sydney's Skywood Climbing, says the youngsters aged up into the adult category during the COVID-19 pandemic and spent those years training, away from the spotlight of competition.

"The young climbers come in having trained all through COVID and now they're starting to overturn the older climbers," Sundakov-Krumins told AAP.

During the finals, competitors must climb four different three-metre tall walls with no harnesses. 

Each course showcases different climbing skills from raw strength to dynamic jumps to considered body placement. 

Climbers can take as many attempts as they want within a four-minute time limit, but to score higher, they must make it to the top in as few tries as possible.

Stasiuk dominated the finals. The Melbourne teen was the only female competitor to top every climb, and she did it with just one attempt each.

While other athletes grew more frustrated with each fall, the 15-year-old maintained her composure, barely cracking a smile when she reached the roof.

"It was really good. I know I didn't have a super good climbing performance in the past couple of rounds but I was really happy with the final," Stasiuk said.

The mens title was a jostle between the Healy twins and wonder kid Dylan Parks. In the end, Liam prevailed, topping three walls to Sam and Dylan's two.

"The field is a lot younger now," said Liam.

"Though we managed (to win) today, those guys are the future, and they're looking really good."

Three weeks before the final, Parks sustained an injury that caused his foot to swell. While he has recovered in time for the final, his foot was still inflamed, forcing him to wear a right shoe four sizes bigger than his left.

Regardless, Parks was pleased with his performance and both he and Stasiuk have started looking to the 2024 Paris Olympics.