The European youth and junior rock climbing Cup, featuring the “difficulty” and “speed” disciplines, took place in the Austrian city of Imst.
The Donetsk region was successfully represented on the Ukrainian national team by 18-year-old Mariia Shymkova – a master of sports of Ukraine, an athlete of the Donetsk regional specialized professional sports college named S. Bubka and the regional school of higher sportsmanship, and an athlete-instructor of the Donetsk regional reserve sports team.
Mariia competed in the “speed” discipline in the U19 age group (“Youth A”), where 13 athletes from seven European countries – Spain, Italy, Ukraine, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia and Poland – vied for medals.
In the qualifying round, the athlete from Donetsk oblast posted the best time among all participants – 7.87 seconds.
In the quarterfinals and semifinals, Shymkova beat her rivals from Slovenia and Italy, clearing the vertical wall in 7.95 and 7.90 seconds, respectively.
In the final race, Mariia posted her best time of the tournament – 7.69 seconds – and confidently claimed the gold medal. In the final, the athlete from Donetsk oblast finished ahead of Nora García Maestu of Spain, who clocked 8.28 seconds.
Mariia Shymkova’s coaches are Ihor Tyapkin and Maryna Tkachova.