There is a wall in Blackburn, Melbourne, that is five storeys high. Most people who walk in for the first time look up at it and say there is absolutely no way. Then they climb it anyway. That is the thing about rock climbing: it keeps proving you wrong about yourself in the best possible way. And right now, women and girls all over the world are finding that out.

A Sport on the Rise

Rock climbing has always attracted adventurous souls. But the version of the sport that exists today, inclusive, competitive, community-driven and accessible to anyone willing to lace up a pair of climbing shoes, is something genuinely new. Over the past decade, the number of people who climb has surged. Bouldering gyms alone grew by 80% worldwide between 2018 and 2023.^[1] More than 50 million people now participate in climbing in some form globally, and the average indoor climbing gym now sees a male-to-female ratio of roughly 60:40, a gap that has been steadily narrowing.^[2]

Films like Free Solo and The Dawn Wall drew millions of new viewers into the world of climbing: not just as spectators, but as aspirants. People watched those stories and then went looking for a wall. Gyms responded. New facilities opened. And those gyms became something more than just fitness venues: they became social spaces, communities, and places where women and girls feel immediately welcome.

The numbers are striking. Women's participation in outdoor rock climbing has risen by nearly 80% over the last decade.^[2] In competition, the growth has been even more dramatic, participation in climbing competitions by women has increased by over 150% in that same period.^[2] Climbing is no longer a sport that happens to include women. Women are now among its most visible stars, its most dominant competitors, and its most powerful advocates.

Right Here in Melbourne: Urban Climb Blackburn

For anyone in Melbourne's east, the opening of Urban Climb Blackburn has been a genuine game-changer. Described by Urban Climb CEO Alex Cox-Taylor as "the experience of the outdoors, indoors, right in the heart of Melbourne," this facility is one of the most impressive indoor climbing venues in the country.^[3]

The numbers alone are jaw-dropping. The centre spans 2,800 square metres and features a 17-metre lead wall, one of the tallest indoor climbing walls in Australia, alongside a dedicated bouldering hall, an Olympic-style speed climbing wall, top rope climbing, a yoga studio, a weights area, a sauna, and a café.^[3][4] There are over 200 climbing routes, and route-setters regularly refresh the problems to keep even experienced climbers challenged.^[3] You can walk in having never climbed before and find a friendly route to start on; or you can walk in as an experienced competition climber and push yourself hard.

Urban Climb Blackburn sits at 15–33 Alfred Street, Blackburn, and is open seven days a week. Whether you're eight or eighty, a complete beginner or someone chasing their first lead certification, there is a wall with your name on it.

From Mountains to the Olympic Stage

Sport climbing has an official Olympic history that is still in its early chapters, which makes it all the more exciting to watch unfold. ^[5] The sport made its very first appearance at a Youth Olympic Games level at Buenos Aires 2018, and then stepped onto the full Olympic stage at the Tokyo 2020 Games, held in 2021. That debut was a moment for the history books.

At Tokyo, sport climbing was contested as a combined event, athletes competed across all three disciplines (bouldering, lead, and speed) in a single medal format. The format proved controversial among purists, but what was beyond debate was the quality of the athletes on display, and the extraordinary popularity of the event with viewers worldwide. By the time Paris 2024 arrived, the IOC had responded to feedback and separated speed climbing into its own event, allowing specialists in bouldering and lead climbing to focus on their strengths.

The result? Spectacular competition and a broader celebration of what the sport can be. Sport climbing at Paris 2024 became one of the most-watched disciplines of the entire Games. The combination of power, grace, problem-solving, and nail-biting drama proved irresistible to audiences who had never watched climbing before. And at the centre of it all was a Slovenian climber who has quietly become one of the greatest athletes of her generation.

Janja Garnbret: The Greatest of Her Generation

If you follow climbing even casually, one name appears again and again: Janja Garnbret. The 27-year-old Slovenian is widely considered the greatest female sport climber of all time, and the numbers make it impossible to argue otherwise. She has won back-to-back Olympic gold medals, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, and at the 2025 World Climbing Championships in Seoul, she added double gold in both bouldering and lead.^[6] She is now chasing her 50th victory on the World Climbing Series circuit, the sport's most prestigious competition circuit, and many expect she will reach it.

What makes Garnbret so special is not just her results but her style. She reads walls differently from almost every other competitor, anticipating sequences and solving problems at a pace that leaves crowds breathless, and she does it with an apparent joy that makes climbing feel effortless even when the routes are anything but. She is the athlete who has turned millions of casual viewers into committed climbing fans. And right now, the World Climbing Series 2026 is in full swing, with the circuit already making stops across China and Europe as it works through its 13-event schedule running from May through to October.^[7]

Australia's Own: Oceana Mackenzie

While Garnbret dominates the global stage, Australia has a climbing story of its own to be proud of, and it is centred on a young Melburnian who has been climbing since she was eight years old.

Oceana Mackenzie is Australia's top-ranked sport climber across both bouldering and lead disciplines, and she is a two-time Olympian at just 23 years of age.^[8] She was the first female to represent Australia in sport climbing when the sport debuted at the Tokyo 2020 Games, a trailblazing moment for Australian climbing that she carried with trademark composure.^[8]

At Paris 2024, Oceana delivered the best Australian result in Olympic climbing history, finishing seventh overall in the women's Boulder & Lead Combined final. In the bouldering round of the final, she placed third, sitting behind only Garnbret and Brooke Raboutou of the USA in the most competitive women's climbing field ever assembled at an Olympic Games.^[9] It was a performance that confirmed what Australian climbing fans have known for years: Oceana Mackenzie belongs at the very top of this sport.

She was born in Germany to New Zealand parents, grew up in Melbourne, and is Melbourne-based, and she started climbing in a gym, the same way most of us can. Her story is a powerful reminder that elite sport climbers do not emerge from mountain villages. They emerge from indoor gyms, from curiosity, from a willingness to try something that challenges them. They look like the girl next to you at your local climbing wall, because once, that is exactly who they were.

The World Climbing Series 2026: Competition in Full Swing

A quick note on the competition calendar, because if you have been hearing talk of "world championships" recently, here is what is actually happening: the World Climbing Series 2026 (formerly known as the IFSC Climbing World Cup) is currently underway. This is the sport's elite international competition circuit, running from May through to October across 13 stops in 10 countries, including China, Switzerland, Spain, Czech Republic, Austria, France, and for the first time ever, Chile.^[7]

This is distinct from the World Climbing Championships, which are held every two years and are next scheduled for 2027 in Brno, Czech Republic. Think of the World Climbing Series as the season-long circuit, the equivalent of a tennis Grand Slam calendar, and the World Championships as the pinnacle end-of-cycle event. Both matter enormously in determining rankings, prestige, and qualification pathways for the Olympic Games.

The 2026 Series also marks the first season under the federation's new name, World Climbing, having rebranded from the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) in December 2025.^[7] New name, same jaw-dropping competition. It's free to watch live on the World Climbing YouTube channel from anywhere in Australia.

Why Women Are Choosing to Climb

Ask women why they climb, and the answers are strikingly consistent. It is one of the few sports where pure upper-body strength is not the determining factor, technique, flexibility, problem-solving, and body awareness matter just as much. The sport rewards thinking as much as physicality, which means the learning curve is genuinely exciting rather than discouraging. Every problem on a wall is a puzzle, and solving one feels extraordinary.

There is also the community aspect, which is hard to overstate. Indoor climbing gyms have developed a culture that is, by general reputation, one of the most welcoming in sport. Strangers offer beta (tips on how to solve a route) freely. There is no competitive pressure in recreational sessions. You climb at your own pace, on your own route, and people around you are cheering, not judging. For women and girls who have felt unwelcome or scrutinised in other sporting environments, a good climbing gym can feel like coming home.

And then there are the physical benefits. Climbing builds full-body strength, core stability, grip strength, and spatial awareness. It improves mental focus and problem-solving. Multiple studies point to its benefits for mental health. It is, quite simply, one of the best all-round physical activities available, and it happens to be one of the most fun.

Why This Story Belongs in the Hero Athletica Community

At Hero Athletica, we celebrate women and girls who move, who compete, and who find themselves through sport. Rock climbing is a sport that has always had a place for the brave and the curious, and right now, it has never been more welcoming, more accessible, or more exciting for women and girls than it is today.

If you are in Melbourne, there has never been a better time to walk into a climbing gym and try something new. Urban Climb Blackburn has the walls and the routes and the community to make that first session something you will come back from changed. If you are watching the World Climbing Series and feeling inspired by athletes like Janja Garnbret or Australia's own Oceana Mackenzie, let that inspiration be an invitation. The sport they love is also for you. The walls are waiting.