Jan Štípek's successful year

Jan Štípek, a young talented climber from Ústí nad Labem, is a true master of the vertical world. His natural ability to move on rocks and walls is proof of his exceptional gift. He has been awarded the prestigious Golden Nut Award for his outstanding sporting achievements in recognition of his talent and hard work. As a member of the Rock Empire team, he continues to add to his medal collection, a testament to his unwavering desire to win.

Honza sent us a report from this year in which he shares his successes and progress. We are thrilled to share his success story, which is an inspiration to all who wish to embark on a journey of sporting excellence. Jan Štípek represents the future of climbing, and his name will surely resonate in climbing circles for many years to come.

Jan Štípek: 

I was looking forward to this season a lot, and, when I evaluate it in retrospect, it was a crazy season full of victories and joy, but also hard work, stress and mistakes. All the emotions, both positive and negative, belong to the competitions. I enjoy the hard work as it pushes me further, and it also showed right away at the first European Youth Cup where I finished second. In the next race, I placed fourth, but in the end I'm glad for that result as it opened my eyes. Thanks to the losses, I learned to enjoy the competitions more and not to be so nervous. I think that because I was less nervous and more enthusiastic, I won the next European Cup races. Then came the European Championships, where I also placed first. With the same determination, I entered the European Cup for rope climbing, where I won two more races. Unfortunately, the stress caught up with me, and I placed second in the last race.

This year, there was also an important competition in South Korea - the World Championships. I was hoping for first place when I left, but I made some mistakes and ended up fourth on the rope and ninth in the bouldering. It was painful for me, but as I say, this is part of racing, and it pushes me further. When I came back, I had only a week until my last European Championships on ropes. My goal for the last races was clear: to put on a good show. I think I succeeded, as I was the only competitor to score all the tops. It was a really great feeling.

This year was not only about racing but also about spending time on the rocks where I had a couple of projects. I climbed a lot of new routes and added two 8c's. My main goal was to climb 9a Underground on the rocks, which I am still working on. I haven´t given up yet.

Also worth mentioning is my admission to the Olympics Team. It is another big step for me, which made me very happy, and I am looking forward to it. I rate this season, with all its successes and failures, as great, and I am looking forward to preparing and racing next season.

Finally, I would like to thank all my sponsors, my coach Tomas Binther and the national coaches.

Below is a summary of the races and my placing:

3x Czech bouldering competitions: 2x Prague and Slaný. 2x Cup winner, 1x Czech Championship, 3x wins. Czech champion and Cup winner in bouldering.

3x Czech bouldering competitions: 3x Brno. 2x Cup winner, 1x Czech Republic. 2x wins and 1x I did not participate. Czech champion and winner of the lead climbing cup.

3x European Bouldering Cups and 1x European Bouldering Championship in Portugal, Lithuania, Austria and Germany respectively. 2x wins, 1x second place and 1x fourth place. European Champion and winner of the bouldering cup.

3x European Cup Lead Climbing 1x European Championship Lead Climbing in Switzerland, France, Austria and Finland. 3x wins and 1x second place. European champion , winner of the bouldering cup and winner of the combination.

World Championships in Korea: 4th place for

Foto: Petr Chodura