Molly Thompson-Smith doing what she does best (Picture: Instagram @mollyts123)
Competition season is upon us and I couldn’t be more excited to experience and enjoy every moment after working my way back from a fractured and broken ankle.
I suffered the injury last autumn when bouldering in the Peak District and it’s only recently I have been back to feeling like myself again on the wall, which is perfect timing as I’m off to my first World Cup of 2023 in Salt Lake City this weekend.
I decided to miss the first two World Cups of the season and make my pre-season more relaxed, with rehab and regaining confidence in my ankle being the priority. But after Salt Lake City my competition schedule doesn’t really let up and I’ll be back on the road again for a series of World Cups in Europe.
This year is centred around Olympic qualification, with the climax of the summer being the world championships in August in Bern, where the first three Olympic spots will be up for grabs.
After Bern, continental qualifying takes place in September and October, followed by the Urban Climbing Series next spring, where the top 46 world-ranked athletes in the combined will be invited to battle it out for the remaining spaces at next year’s Paris Olympics.
I’ll be honest, I initially lost all hope in my chances at even trying to qualify for the Games when I broke my ankle; when you can’t walk, the idea of even competing at a World Cup is just that – an idea.
I decided not to look too far ahead but rather focus on building myself back up again one step at a time.
Relearn to walk, then learn to climb, land, then fall. Breaking it down like this, holding on to the ‘ah-ha’ and ‘oh wow’ moments gave me momentum and before I knew it I was back in my old competition climbing shoes.
The injury showed me how lucky I’d been to take the everyday things for granted – carrying a cup of tea from the kettle to the sofa was the first bit of normality and independence after weeks of needing constant help.
Molly Thompson-Smith has reason to smile again after injury (Picture: Instagram @mollyts123)
Then it was back to trying to progress my climbing and after so long doing my best to avoid any impact on the foot and not wanting to fall I struggled to snap straight back into moving confidently on the wall.
With patience and a great support system, I’ve slowly worked my way back to standing on slippery volumes, or trying hard near the top of the wall.
There have definitely been days where I’m still scared high up on the wall and have to be aware of my limits but this whole injury journey has been about trusting myself and the process – I’m evolving and growing week by week.
I worked hard and followed my rehab plan strictly but still it went quicker and more smoothly than I could have hoped. I felt it would be a miracle to be competing at this point in the year – my realistic aim was June.
Molly Thompson-Smith is back in training (Picture: Instagram @mollyts123)
So I’m over the moon to be able to look forward to the competition this weekend and even a full season.
Overall, I am really happy with my comeback and the recovery process – it took a lot to get back to being in shape mentally and physically and getting back to actually competing was never guaranteed.
I realised the importance of doing my rehab and following the plan from the beginning as this was more than just a climbing injury – I wanted to be able to enjoy walking and climbing in later life.
Regardless of how this year goes I’m proud of myself for overcoming this setback and giving myself a shot at going for my Olympic dream.
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