Shauna Coxsey

Coxsey was born on 27 January 1993 in Runcorn, Cheshire. She began climbing in 1997 at age four, inspired by a television broadcast of Catherine Destivelle climbing in Mali.[5][6]

Coxsey climbing at the Boulder World Cup finals in August 2017

Coxsey is mainly active in competition climbing and has participated in several international competitions in bouldering. She has won the British Bouldering Championships on multiple occasions.[7] In 2012, she won the 9th edition of the Melloblocco and placed 2nd in the World Cup stages in Log-Dragomer and Innsbruck.[8] She finished third in the 2012 Bouldering World Cup.[7] In 2013, she cleanly ascended her first problem graded 8B (V13)  when she climbed Nuthin' But Sunshine in Rocky Mountain National Park.[9] In November, she was appointed one of the UK's first British Mountaineering Council Ambassadors.[10] In 2014, she placed second overall in the IFSC Bouldering World Cup,[11] and fourth at the Bouldering World Championships in Munich.[12] The same year, she became the third woman ever to boulder 8B+ (V14) when she topped New Baseline in Magic Wood near the Swiss town of Chur.[13] In 2015, she won the British Bouldering Championships in Sheffield and took first place at the Bouldering World Cup in Munich.[7][14][15][16]

Coxsey was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Birthday Honours.[6][17][18] In late 2016, she suffered a shoulder injury which prevented her from competing in that year's Bouldering World Championships,[8] despite topping the overall rankings in the Bouldering World Cup.[19] She won four IFSC Climbing World Cups in Meiringen (SUI), Kazo (JPN), Innsbruck (AUT) and Sheffield (UK). At the World Cup in Munich (GER) she placed second.[7] In 2017, she again won four Bouldering World Cup stages,[8] in Meiringen (SUI), Kazo (JPN), Mumbai (IND) and Vail (USA). In Munich (GER) she again placed second and secured the overall 2017 title.[3][7] In August 2019, she won two bronze medals at the 2019 IFSC Climbing World Championships in Hachioji, in bouldering and the combined event. During the finals of the combined event, she set a British women's speed climbing record of 9.141 seconds, securing second place in the speed component of the combined ranking by winning races against Futaba Ito and Miho Nonaka before losing to Aleksandra Miroslaw. Additionally, by reaching the finals of the combined event, she secured a qualification spot for Tokyo's 2020 Summer Olympics.[20]

Coxsey is the first British woman to climb the V12, V13, and V14 grades.

V14 (8B+):

• New Base Line – Magic Wood (SWI) – 12 July 2014 – First female ascent of Bernd Zangerl's Boulder (2002)[21]

V13 (8B):

• Ropes of Maui – Dinas Mot (GBR) – 5 April 2016 – First female ascent (first ascent by Pete Robins, 2014)[22]
• One Summer in Paradise – Magic Wood (SWI) – 3 July 2014 – Second female ascent (first ascent by Martin Keller, 2005)[23]
• Zarzaparrilla – Albarracin (ESP) – 31 March 2014 – First female ascent[24]
• Nuthin But Sunshine – Lower Chaos (Rocky Mountain National Park, USA) – 26 June 2013 – First female ascent (first ascent by Dave Graham, 2000)[25]

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