Petra Klingler (born 14 February 1992) is a Swiss

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

who specializes in competition climbing. Known as a versatile climber, she competes in a wide range of competitive events, including

competition bouldering A climbing competition (or comp) is usually held indoors on purpose built climbing walls. There are three main types of climbing competition: lead, speed, and bouldering. In lead climbing, the competitors start at the bottom of a route and must c ...

competition speed climbing A climbing competition (or comp) is usually held indoors on purpose built climbing walls. There are three main types of climbing competition: lead, speed, and bouldering. In lead climbing, the competitors start at the bottom of a route and must c ...

competition lead climbing A climbing competition (or comp) is usually held indoors on purpose built climbing walls. There are three main types of climbing competition: lead, speed, and bouldering. In lead climbing, the competitors start at the bottom of a route and must c ...

, and also competition ice climbing.

Early life

Klingler is a third-generation climber and began climbing multipitch when she was six years old. She and her brother would spend weekends outdoors, while her parents and grandparents climbed, typically with three adults climbing and the other watching them. As a teenager, she tired of climbing with her parents and began going to gyms and entering competitions. She was good at horse riding as a youth, but outgrew local competitions at 13 and began focusing on climbing instead. Klingler initially competed in lead climbing, but has since moved towards bouldering.

Competition climbing career

Klingler was described as a "late bloomer" by climbing media after winning her first gold medal aged 23 in bouldering at the

Haiyang Haiyang (), a coastal city in Shandong province in eastern China, located on the Yellow Sea (southern) coast of the Shandong Peninsula. It is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yantai. Haiyang's claim t ...

leg of the

2015 IFSC Climbing World Cup The 2015 IFSC Climbing World Cup was held in 13 locations. Bouldering competitions were held in 5 locations, lead in 7 locations, and speed in 5 locations. The season began on 17 May in Central Saanich, Canada and concluded on 15 November in Kran ...

. That same year she came third in lead climbing in the

UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships The Ice Climbing World Championship is a biennial international competition ice climbing event organized and regulated by the UIAA. It is the ice climbing equivalent of the IFSC Climbing World Championships in rock climbing. Events Men's res ...

, and second in lead climbing in the overall UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup. In 2016, she studied Sports Science and Psychology at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

, while also training, typically doing 10 sessions a week. Klingler described her main gym as not ideal for bouldering, but perfect for systematic training. She pulled back from training a bit in 2018 to finish her degree. Klingler won the

2016 IFSC Climbing World Championships The 2016 IFSC Climbing World Championships, the 14th edition, were held in Paris, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas r ...

for bouldering. In 2017, she finished with a bronze medal in the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup despite injuring her knee halfway up the final route. Klingler was in tears after stretching some ligaments and damaging her

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...

, but managed to continue up the route using only one leg. In 2019, Klingler won the Swiss championships in all three competition climbing disciplines: lead, speed and bouldering, and qualified for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

during the

2019 IFSC Climbing World Championships The 2019 IFSC Climbing World Championships, the 16th edition, were held in Hachioji, Japan from 11 to 21 August 2019. The championships consisted of lead, speed, bouldering, and combined events. The paraclimbing event was held separately from 1 ...

. In 2022, she took part in Red Bull Dual Ascent, an informal competition hosted by

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

on the

Contra Dam Contra may refer to: Places * Contra, Virginia * Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California * Contra Costa County, California * Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland ...

featuring pairs of climbers on mirrored multi-pitch climbing routes. The next year, she announced her intent of trying to qualify for the

2024 Olympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summe ...

as her last goal in competition, making the 2023 World Championships her last.

Television

At the

Klingler served as analyst for the English language

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

of the

Sport Climbing Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors to ...

discipline.

Rankings

Climbing World Cup

Ice climbing world cup

Climbing World Championships

Adult

Ice climbing world championships

Medals in the Climbing World Cup

Bouldering

Ice climbing

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klingler, Petra 1992 births Living people Swiss female climbers Swiss rock climbers Sport climbers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic sport climbers for Switzerland Ice climbers 21st-century Swiss women IFSC Climbing World Championships medalists Boulder climbers Swiss competition climbers UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships medalists UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup overall medalists