Israeli Youth Climbers Win Two European Titles and Four Medals in Hungary

Israel’s youth climbing team delivered a major result at the European Youth Bouldering Championships in Hungary last weekend, finishing with four medals, including two golds. The 22-athlete delegation from the Israel Climbing Association showed strong depth from the start, with 16 climbers advancing from qualification to the semifinals. In the boys’ under-19 category, all Israeli entrants reached the semifinals and finished atop the qualification standings.

Six Israeli climbers reached today’s finals. In the girls’ under-19 event, Alma Sapir Levi won silver after taking bronze in a younger age group last year. In the boys’ under-19 final, Geffen Levi placed fifth, while Itamar Harel became European champion. Harel’s result marked his third straight year on the European podium, after gold two years ago in a younger category and silver last year in under-19.

In the women’s under-21 competition, Alma Shlomovitz finished seventh. In the men’s under-21 category, Yoni Katz won bronze and continued an excellent season, having already taken silver at the senior European Cup this year. The final highlight came when Tomer Yaakovovitz, Israel’s senior national champion and one of the country’s leading climbers, beat his Austrian rival in a close final to claim the under-21 European title.

Israel’s anthem was played twice in the Hungarian arena as the team returned home with four medals and another sign of its strength in youth bouldering. The article said Israel has ranked among Europe’s leading teams for more than three years, and that the young generation continues to keep the country near the top internationally. All of the medallists are members of the Olympic program “Brisbane” run by the Olympic Committee and the High Performance Sports Unit.