12 February 2020

Olympic medal hopeful Shauna Coxsey reveals she has been climbing her cellar in preparation for Tokyo Games

Team GB's Shauna Coxsey has revealed she even has a climbing wall in her cellar to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Coxsey made history yesterday as she was named the first British Olympic climber as the sport makes its debut at the event in the summer.

And the 27-year-old has said she trains in an array of different places, including underneath her house.

Speaking to The Guardian, she said: “I train at lots of different places – I’ve even got a climbing wall built in my cellar, which is really cool.

“I have access to a lot of different stuff but it’s between four and eight hours a day, usually for six or seven days a week. There’s some off-the-wall training too; I’ve been strengthening my fingers to get them ready for all the disciplines. It’s tough but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Coxsey is also excited about how the spectators will respond to the sport being at the Olympics for the first time.

“I think it’s going to be incredible. When you’re at a climbing event, the buzz you get from a crowd is just incredible," she added.

“As a spectator it’s going to be insane to watch all these different disciplines and different elements going on. We can all relate to climbing. It’s tough for us, to train for them all … but it’s going to be fun for everyone else.”

The climbing event at Tokyo will be contested from August 4-7.

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