Gqeberha speed climber Aniya Holder believes she is a far more accomplished athlete than when she arrived at the Paris Olympics two years ago and is determined to make the most of her next international opportunities.
Holder, who set the African women’s speed-climbing record of 9.12 seconds in Paris, had only been competing in the discipline for about 20 months at the time.
Now approaching four years as a speed climber, she feels she has developed significantly and committed more of her life to the sport.
Holder will compete in the World Climbing Series events in Guiyang, China, from September 11 to 13 and Chongqing from September 18 to 20, where she hopes to put her progression since the Paris Olympics to the test and potentially set a new continental benchmark.
“I feel much more advanced now than I was in Paris,” Holder said.
““I know so much more about the sport, I’m better at the sport, I’ve done more competitions.”
That progression has required sacrifices away from the wall, with Holder having to create a more balanced way of juggling her work and training schedules, and essentially tailoring her life around speed climbing.
“I’ve sort of changed my life as much as I can to tailor to speed climbing,” she said.
“I was obviously doing everything I could before, but now I’m making any alterations that I can afford to make just to speed climbing.”
International competition has played an important role in that development, with Holder saying every event and trip provides lessons she can take back into training.
“Every time you compete, every time you travel, you learn things that you just didn’t before,” she said.
“You sort of implement them into the next season.
“The level I need to reach is pretty high.
“It is intimidating, but I’m determined to sort of push myself as far as I can go.
“I don’t know how far that will be, but I’m hoping it’s pretty high.”
One of the biggest obstacles remains preparation.
Holder and coach Jay-D Muller train on a six-metre wall in Gqeberha rather than the regulation 15m wall used at major international competitions.
Financial constraints prevent them from regularly travelling to Johannesburg or Cape Town to train on a full-size wall.
Holder trains on the speed wall for about three hours, four days a week, while also completing gym sessions two to four times a week.
Overall, she estimates she trains between three and five hours a day, five days a week.
The lack of a full-size wall also means travelling early for international competitions so she can adapt to the regulation wall before racing.
“We have to make sure that wherever we go to compete, we travel there at least a week before,” Holder said.
Despite those challenges, Holder remains focused on what she can control and is determined to make her next opportunity count.
“We just do what we can with what we have,” she said.
Her ambition is clear — when she gets another opportunity on a regulation wall in an eligible international competition, she wants to put the progress she has made since Paris onto the clock.
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