Climbing Kings of Metal – my first 8a+ in Rodellar and winning my first Polish Cup in bouldering will always stand out as my highlight moments in my climbing career. Since then I climbed 4 more 8a+ and podiumed in a couple more National level competitions.
Spain and Italy in general are my favorite countries for climbing, with the top climbing areas being Rodellar, Albenga (Pennavalley) and Sella. I love visiting southern European countries for climbing and for the good, chill vibe. Born and raised in Warsaw, Poland where my heart beats and the best training facilities can be found!
Sport climbing
I’m passionate about the space field and worked as an intern in the European Space Agency.
I first got on a climbing wall when I was 13 y.o. after quitting swimming. Definitely something that kept me interested was the freedom of movement and how climbing allows to discover new amazing places around the world. Another aspect that really stood out to me and kept me in the sport was the amazing community.
My climbing hero in the early days was definitely Alex Puccio, I loved her style and determination when climbing and I wanted to be just like her. I hope to be a role model for young girls that want to really get into climbing, by showing them the struggles I had when I started and encouraging them to dream big. Sometimes I can put some pressure on myself because I know that people might look up to me, but it also motivates me to be a better climber and person.
In climbing I think the biggest milestone that made me believe in myself as a climber was winning the Bloco Losers competition in 2016. I realized after a couple of years that that was a crucial moment that shaped me as the climber I am today. In everyday life a very important milestone was moving to study from Warsaw to Milan, which enabled me to study and work in the space industry that I’m so excited about. I guess with this one I knew before moving that this would be an important decision in my life.
I unfortunately had a streak of injuries that made me question whether I should continue to take climbing so seriously. After the best competition season in my life I had a serious wrist injury, which ended in surgery and more than 7 months off climbing, A couple years after that, after a lot of training and feeling in my best rock shape a dislocated elbow disabled me to travel and climb for a couple of months. After moving to Milan a strong shoulder inflammation made me stop climbing for 4 months. Every injury was hard in its own ways, but I promised myself that I just wouldn’t stop training and climbing because I just love it too much. And I kept my promise, which I’m forever grateful for. Now I’m cautious in training to get my level up again without causing any more injuries.
I think it’s so hard to just pick one from all the amazing experiences I had climbing. However, the one that stands out a bit more than the rest is winning my first big competition at Bloco Losers in 2016. I wasn’t expecting to win, I was relatively new to climbing and competing and I will never forget when in the duel format final I stuck the move that wasn’t done by either of us, finalists. The crowds’ roar made it impossible to even hear my own thoughts, and I felt as if everything was muffled, sounds, images, sensations… it was such a surreal feeling. The after party was also sick that night ;D
I am really geeky about training and love to have a plan for all year. When I lived in Warsaw I had a strict training regime with peak performances planned for competitions and bigger trips. Now that I’m moving so close to the rocks (Alicante, Spain) I’m excited to train more by climbing outside and supplementing it with strength and conditioning trainings at the gym.
Find your weaknesses (or let someone with experience find them for you) and target them in your training. Come to the gym with a plan! Also I believe that reading articles and listening podcasts about training is fascinating and it will for sure make you better understand how to structure your training. I especially recommend contents from Eric Horst, Tyler Nelson, and Lattice.
As I’m originally from Warsaw, where there’s no good rock climbing my training always involved a lot of climbing on plastic. I believe that it’s a good way to train for rock climbing, however ultimately, the best training for rock climbing is rock climbing, so it’s important to me to get out there as much as possible and use the gym as supplement training or to psyche me up.
Nope and nope, but doing one is definitely a big training goal of mine.
Nowadays what is shown on social media and how much it is viewed sometimes prevails over climbing skill and love for the sport of many talented athletes. It is important to be able to balance the show and the psyche to just climb for yourself as I think most of the success at a higher level is due to the psyche and love for trying hard coming from intrinsic motivation.
I think it’s more about the mentality you have then physical conditions, assuming you’re in good health. I believe that if you invest the right amount of time and energy it’s possible for most people, however for some it comes very easy and for others it would require years and years of trainings and sacrifice. You really have to believe and want to achieve these big things, then anything is possible.
I believe that goals is what keeps athletes going. Setting goals and assessing them regularly is crucial for the motivation, planning and logistics of training! Gradewise I have a goal to climb a 8c route in the next 5 years. In life I have the goal of working on making a positive impact on the environment using my engineering degree to good use and feeling that my work matters.
I usually get SO excited by routes that are hard. I’m always very interested in the different ways a move is possible to be done and I love solving the puzzle in front of me. Sometimes I get intimidated by the challenge and I get a fear of success, when sending something hard is within reach.
I was raised in the “oldschool” style of climbing where when you couldn’t do a move it was your fault and no one else’s. These days, I notice a trend in many commercial gyms where climbing is approached with an emphasis on creating a pleasant and enjoyable experience. This creates the concept that if you can’t do the move it’s the route’s fault. I would like to reintroduce the more “oldschool” way of thinking – you suck, try harder.
I definitely see that indoor climbing will grow immensely with the easy access to new climbing gyms. With the wide spread of social media the sport will also be popularized and I think with this it’s important to spread authenticity and awareness about the environmental issues connected to climbing. I see my role in this future as someone that can spread that message and that awareness.
