Speaking to insidethegames after winning the men's bouldering discipline at CISM World Winter Games, the 22-year-old, who has been climbing for a little more than ten years, said the sport deserved a place on the Olympic programme and hoped to compete in the Games himself.

"It should be an Olympic sport if you ask me," Schubert (pictured top) insisted.

"I've got some hopes to be part of the Games in 2020 and of course it would mean a lot to us.

"Climbing has doubled up over the last year or so and it's a really great sport."

He also praised Annecy 2013 for this event, which officially concluded yesterday, and explained that he was glad to have taken part.

"It was great," Schubert said.

"It was a small competition for us ahead of the World Cup next week but the boulders were really nice and it was organised perfectly.

"I had a lot of fun."

His compatriot Kilian Fischhuber, five-time winner of the Bouldering World Cup, claimed the silver medal in the bouldering event, while Klemen Bečan of Slovenia claimed the bronze to add to the gold he won in the difficulty discipline ahead of German Markus Hoppe and Switzerland's Benjamin Blaser.


For the women, Austrian two-time World Champion and three-time overall winner of the Bouldering World Cup Anna Stöhr won the gold in the bouldering discipline, followed by Russian Evgenia Malamid, who secured the silver, and World Cup winner Mina Markovič of Slovenia who took the bronze.

"I feel good," Stöhr told insidethegames.

"It was good to have a competition to compare yourself to the others.

"There was a lot of World Cup athletes here too so it was kind of a challenge.

"I enjoyed it."

Malamid and Markovič went one better in the difficulty discipline to win the gold and silver medal respectively, while Russia's Yana Chereshneva claimed the bronze.

Climbing is up against wrestling, baseball/softball, karate, roller sport, squash, wakeboard and wushu as the sports bidding for Olympic status at the 2020 Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is due to announce the winning sport at its Session in Buenos Aires in September.

Contact the writer of this story at emily.goddard@insidethegames.biz


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