Ex-Olympian Shauna Coxey won Sheffield’s international climbing competition last night, after coming out of retirement to compete in the last of its 20-year run.
The Climbing Works International Festival (CWIF) has been an iconic event in every Sheffield climbers’ calendar ever since its inception in 2006, but last weekend saw its final hurrah.
The competition attracted climbers from all over the world, including Rei Kawamata from Japan, who took first place on the podium for the men’s competition, and Sheffield’s own Shauna Coxey, in her first competition since the Olympics in 2021.
Shauna said: “This event is so special. I’m absolutely gutted that it’s the last ever CWIF but I think the buzz and the environment around this whole event is something so unique. That’s why I wanted to come out of retirement for one comp only.
“The last competition I did was the Olympics, so it is worlds away from that being here with such a friendly buzz. It’s really cool, I think they’ve done an incredible job to embrace the community.”
The 33-year-old competed for Great Britain at Tokyo 2020, the first year climbing was part of the Olympics with lead, bouldering and speed events where she finished 10th place despite ongoing knee injuries.
Before her Olympic debut, Shauna won five CWIFs in a row, from 2012 to 2016.
When she announced on social media she was returning to competition climbing for this event, she said: “this competition has always held a special place in my heart.”
Chloé Caulier, from Belgium came 2nd place behind Shauna, and Jenya Kazbekova from Ukraine took 3rd on the podium.
In the men’s competition, Dayan Akhtar from Leeds came 2nd, and 19-year-old Sam Hammond from Mansfield was 3rd.
Toby Roberts, who won the gold medal for Team GB at the Paris Olympics in 2024, also made it to CWIF semi-finals. Credit: Rose Mason
After the qualification round on Saturday morning, Shauna spoke to Sheffield Wire about how she thought it went.
She said: “I have no idea how my climbing went today. I would love to know actually. I don’t know whether I’ll be in semis, I don’t know if I’ve done well or not well. When you’re in the CWIF qualification round, you have to do 30 boulders in three hours.
Shauna Coxey on the last move of one of the CWIF qualifying boulders. Credit: Rose Mason
“I say do, I definitely didn’t do 30 boulders, I didn’t even try all of them! I ran out of time and it felt very hectic and chaotic, but in quite a fun way. During it I was like ‘what am I doing, this is so intense!’ Being a mum, I’m quite used to hectic chaos, so I feel like that was in my favour a little bit.”
Little did she know then, that she would come first in semi-finals, and go on to win the competition in the final on Sunday evening by topping one boulder in the first attempt and securing three ‘zones’, the half way point of the climb.
The Rab CWIF 2026 female results. Credit: The Climbing Works.
The Rab CWIF 2026 male results. Credit: The Climbing Works.
Sarah Moran is General Manager of the Climbing Works just off Abbeydale Road and has organised the CWIF for the last four years.
She said: “Because it is our last one, it is our busiest one yet. The spectator tickets for the final sold out in four minutes. Last year it was 20 minutes.”
Big name athletes weren’t the only people Sarah recognised trying their hand in the comp.
She said: “People have been coming to our kids clubs since they were tiny, and now they’re old enough to compete here, because you have to be 14. There are kids I taught at eight-years-old that are here today.”
Sheffield is known as ‘The Outdoor City’, given its proximity to the Peak District, home to a rich history of outdoor climbing.
Gritstone boulders in Burbage Valley Credit: Rose Mason
“Sheffield is such a good city to be into any outdoor activity because we are so close to the Peak District,” Sarah says. “A lot of people do gravitate to Sheffield to live here because of the Peak District, because of the climbing.
“When I do job interviews it’s very common that people are like ‘I’m moving to Sheffield for the climbing’. It’s why I moved for uni like 15-years-ago – because of the climbing.”
The Climbing Works co-founder, Graeme Anderson, began the CWIF after organising other competitions and wanting to bring that to Sheffield.
Sarah said: “When we first ran this, it was the first of its kind in a climbing wall. It has grown and grown and a lot of other walls follow the similar format”.
Graeme retiring this year means CWIF is coming to an end, but Sarah promises there will be more Climbing Works events in the future.
Though this is the final CWIF, Sarah says The Works will host more events in the future. Credit: Rose Mason
