It’s a sport in which winning or losing happens in the time it takes to click your fingers.

That’s how Olympian Julian David describes speed climbing.

The Mount Maunganui 20-year-old won last year’s NZ Speed Climbing National Championships, reaching the top of the wall in a time of 5.6 seconds.

At this weekend’s La Sportiva NZ Speed Climbing National Championships, he hopes to get close to the times he was “running” at 2024’s Paris Olympics.

“If I can get close to 5.2 seconds or 5.3 seconds, that would be great,” he said. “It can be down to how hard I push off or hit the pad.

“How fast you can click fingers is how fast I’m moving, so it means the margin of error is much higher too.”

After taking a “big month-long break” over Christmas, David has been training hard in the gym on alternate days and climbing every afternoon.

In the 2024 world rankings, he’s listed as the 36th-fastest male speed climber and will be among 50 competitors at the National Speed Climbing Champs at Blake Park this Saturday, February 22. Fellow Olympian and 38th-ranked female climber Sarah Tetzlaff is also competing.

“They’re both high up in the world rankings and watching them speed up the wall is very cool. These are world-class athletes right here in the Mount,” said head coach Rob Moore. “The nationals are being held in conjunction with the IFSC Oceania Continental Speed Cup, so we have climbers from Australia working towards World Cup points.

“The youngest kids are around 11 and will be climbing in the morning, and then the masters later in the day.”

Fourteen-year-old Levi Dickinson representing Bay of Plenty Sport Climbing Association competing at 2024’s national speed climbing championships. Photo: Brydie Thompson

For David, his third nationals this weekend mark the start of his run into the 2025 season before he heads away to six different World Cup events, the world games in China in August and the pinnacle – the 2025 Speed Climbing World Championships in Seoul, South Korea in September.

“I spent four years doing lead climbing before specialising in the speed wall. My advice to kids starting the sport is to trust the process and do what you enjoy. That’s what’s working for me.”

Spectators are welcome to join the festive atmosphere next to the cricket oval at Blake Park and watch the national championships, which begin with athlete warm-ups and qualifications from 9am. Spectator entry is free. More information is available at www.whatsontauranga.co.nz.