26 September 2020

British climber Shauna Coxsey says the Olympics and her wedding day were postponed on the same day

British climber Shauna Coxsey says ‘it was hard’ to have both the Olympics and her wedding postponed on the same day.

The Olympics were rescheduled on March 24 and Coxsey and her fiance Ned Feehally were among the estimated two-thirds of weddings to be impacted by the pandemic.

She told BBC: "It was hard to adjust to the [Olympic] Games being delayed and we'd gone into lockdown. Then my wedding was cancelled on the same day so it was hard.

"I'm a really positive person though and I tried to make the most of the time so I decided to have surgeries that I needed on my knee and wrist, so I can get as healthy and fit as possible for when competitions do return."

Climbing is due to make its debut at the Olympics next year and Coxsey added she wants the ‘exciting opportunity’ to compete but doesn’t want to put people’s health at risk.

She said: "It's really important that sport goes on, but it's not right to risk the wellbeing or safety of athletes.

"It's a massive and exciting opportunity for my sport to be showcased at the Games, but I don't want anyone to be put at risk. We have to put trust in the federations and governing bodies to do the right thing."

Coxsey is due to be back to competition for the first time since the pandemic at the rescheduled IFSC European Championships being held in Moscow in November.

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