Introduction

Joshua set a new PB - and an African record - in 2023, so it’s fair to say that the twenty year old is in good form going into the Olympic year. 

Unfortunately, that PB of 5.95 seconds is a whole second off World Record pace, in a sport that, at its best, is over in less than five seconds. Unless he pulls something extraordinary out of the bag, or there are a lot of slips or false starts, we’d be surprised to see him near the podium.

Qualification route

IFSC Speed African Qualifier Pretoria 2023: 1st Place (Speed)

African record holder Joshua took the top spot in a competition that failed to break the seven second barrier. Whilst he showed consistency by being the fastest climber in both qualification and the final, Joshua will be up against much stiffer competition in Paris.

Trivia

Despite representing South Africa, Joshua - who is studying at Warwick University - recently competed in the British Speed Climbing championships, where he came in second place.

UKC prediction

12th-14th place

Currently ranked 82nd in the world, and with a PB that’s more than a second off World Record pace, it would be surprising to see Joshua challenge for the medals. We see him finishing somewhere in the region of 12th-14th place.