{{Short description|Canadian rock climber (born 1987)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox climber | image = BW 2012-08-26 Sean McColl CAN 0865.JPG | caption = McColl competing at the 2012 Bouldering World Cup in Munich | name = Sean McColl | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1987|09|03|df=y}} | birth_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | occupation = Professional Athlete | height = 169 cm | weight = 60 kg | typeofclimber = {{flatlist| *Competition climbing *Sport climbing *Bouldering }} | highestgrade = | highestredpoint = {{Climbing grade|9a}} | highestonsight = | highestflash = | highestboulder = {{Boulder grade|V15}} | knownfor = | firstascents = | namedroutes = | majorascents = * ''Dreamcatcher'' (5.14d) * ''Nagual'' (V13), flash * ''Big Paw'' (V15) * ''Meadowlark Lemon'' (V14) | worlds = |medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's competition climbing }} {{MedalCountry | {{CAN}} }} {{MedalCount | Lead World Cup | 3 | 9 | 8 | Bouldering World Cup | 2 | 6 | 6 | World Games | 0 | 0 | 1 }} {{Medal|Competition | World Games }} {{Medal|Bronze | 2017 Wroclaw | Lead }} {{MedalCompetition|World Championships}} {{MedalGold|2012 Paris|Combined}} {{MedalGold|2014 Munich/Gijón|Combined}} {{MedalGold|2016 Paris|Combined}} {{MedalSilver|2012 Paris|Lead}} {{Medal|Competition|World Cup (Season)}} {{Medal|Second|2011|Combined}} {{Medal|Second|2012|Combined}} {{Medal|Third|2013|Bouldering}} {{Medal|Second|2013|Lead}} {{Medal|Winner|2013|Combined}} {{Medal|Second|2014|Combined}} {{Medal|Winner|2015|Combined}} | show-medals = | retired = | website = {{URL|www.seanmccoll.com}} | updated = 1 August 2022 }} '''Sean McColl''' (born 3 September 1987) is a professional rock climber from North Vancouver, Canada. In competition climbing, he competes in the competition lead climbing, competition speed climbing, and competition bouldering disciplines, and has won major competitions in all three. He is also notable for his outdoor sport climbing and bouldering ascents.

== Biography == Sean McColl was born on 3 September 1987<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adidas-rockstars.com/en/event-info/athletes-2012/sean-mccoll/ |title=adidas Rockstars: Sean McColl |publisher=adidas| accessdate=14 July 2013 |date=2012}}</ref> in Vancouver, Canada and lived in Chambéry, France for several years in his twenties.<ref name="2012 Recap"/> As of the past couple of years, he travels the world training and competing. He is sponsored by VISA, Adidas, SCARPA, Flashed Climbing, Perfect Descent, Joe Rockheads, and Vertical'Art.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://seanmccoll.com/sponsors|title=Sponsors » Sean McColl}}</ref>

== Competition climbing== thumb|left|McColl at the final event of the Bouldering World Cup 2012 thumb|left|McColl winning second place at the final event of the Bouldering World Cup 2012 Sean McColl found early success while training with the Canada Youth National Climbing Team.<ref name="ExEdge">{{cite book | title=Expedition to the Edge |author=Martel, Lynn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1rYIiZc1wMC |isbn= 9781897522097 |publisher=Rocky Mountain Books |year=2008}}</ref>{{rp|p. 34&ndash;38}} He won the gold medal in lead climbing in his age group at the 2002, 2003, and 2004 Youth World Championships. In 2006, he won in both the lead and speed climbing categories, and was beginning to break into the top 20 finishes at adult competitions.<ref name="2006 YWC">{{cite news |url=http://www.climbing.com/news/mccoll-wins-twice-at-youth-worlds/ |title=McColl Wins Twice at Youth Worlds |author=MacDonald, Dougald |date=2006 |accessdate=10 July 2013}}</ref> In February 2011, McColl won first place at the 12th Annual ABS Nationals bouldering competition in Boulder, Colorado.<ref name="ABS 12">{{cite news |url=http://www.climbing.com/news/mccoll-puccio-win-abs-12-nationals/ |title=McColl, Puccio Win ABS 12 Nationals |author=Fox, Amanda |publisher=Climbing.com |date=13 February 2011 |accessdate=5 July 2012}}</ref>

2012 was McColl's most successful competition season to date, with 10 podium finishes at major climbing competitions.<ref name="2012 Recap">{{cite news |url=http://www.climbing.com/climber/2012-golden-piton-awards-the-year-in-climbing/ |title=2012 Golden Piton Awards |publisher=Climbing.com |author=MacDonald, Dougald |accessdate=5 July 2013}}</ref> In September, McColl competed in the IFSC Climbing World Championships, where he placed second in lead climbing and fourth in bouldering. Although he did not win either event, he earned enough points to secure first place in the overall competition.<ref name="PM Champ 2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=40044 |title=World Climbing Championships 2012 |author=Schiassi, Franz |publisher= Planet Mountain |date=17 September 2012 |accessdate=5 July 2013}}</ref> Two months later, he went to the PanAmerican Championships in Venezuela. He took first place in lead climbing and second place in bouldering, making him the first Canadian athlete to reach the podium at the competition.<ref name="PanAmerican">{{cite news |url=http://www.climbing.com/news/digiulian-mccoll-take-gold-at-panamerican-championships/ |title=DiGiulian, McColl Take Gold at PanAmerican Championships |author=Larsen, Leia |date=12 November 2012 |accessdate=5 July 2013 |publisher=Climbing.com}}</ref>

In May 2013, McColl earned his first Bouldering World Cup win at an event in Log Dragomer. He was the only male competitor to solve three of the four finals problems, taking first place over Jan Hojer and Dmitri Sarafutdinov.<ref name="Log Dragomer">{{cite news |title=Bouldering World Cup 2013: Sean McColl and Anna Stöhr win in Log Dragomer |url=http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=40861 |publisher=Planet Mountain |date=13 June 2013 |accessdate=5 July 2013 }}</ref> One week later, McColl took fourth place at the World Cup in Innsbruck.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.climbing.com/news/germans-take-gold-in-austrian-world-cup/ |title=Germans Take Gold in Austrian World Cup |date=22 May 2013 |accessdate=10 July 2013 |publisher=Climbing.com}}</ref> He placed fourth once again in June at the World Cup event in Vail.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.climbing.com/news/russian-austrian-victories-at-vail-world-cup/ |title=Russian, Austrian Victories at Vail World Cup |date=9 June 2013 |accessdate=10 July 2013}}</ref>

McColl is known as a very strong athlete both in bouldering and lead. Although he was never able to win a World Championship in these individual disciplines, in 2012 he won the overall IFSC Climbing World Championships, by ranking second in lead and fourth in bouldering. From 2011 to 2014, he consistently obtained very high IFSC Climbing World Cup rankings in both disciplines. In 2014 and 2016, he won the Combined World Cup, while in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015 he ranked second in the Combined World Cup.

McColl won the bronze medal at The World Games 2017 in Wrocław, Poland.

McColl qualified for the Olympics at the 2019 IFSC Climbing World Championships.<ref>{{cite web|date=19 March 2021|title=McColl, Yip set to be 1st Canadians to compete in sport climbing at Tokyo Games|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/sport-climbing/mccoll-yip-first-canadians-to-compete-sport-climbing-1.5956677|access-date=14 July 2021|website=cbc.ca/|publisher=CBC Sports}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Henley|first=Mac|date=19 March 2021|title=McColl and Yip to represent Team Canada in sport climbing Olympic debut|url=https://olympic.ca/2021/03/19/mccoll-and-yip-to-represent-team-canada-in-sport-climbing-olympic-debut/|access-date=14 July 2021|publisher=Canadian Olympic Committee}}</ref> He went on to represent Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he placed 17th in the combined competition.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tokyo 2020|url=https://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/olympic-games/tokyo-2020|access-date=2021-09-02|website=ifsc-climbing.org}}</ref>

===Ninja Warrior=== In 2014, McColl competed for Team Europe in American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World, and led his team to victory. On Stage 2, McColl blew through the stage, at one point landing hard on his stomach. During Stage 3, McColl fell on the final obstacle, just feet from the end, allowing the American team the opportunity to tie up the competition. On Stage 4, although the Americans started strong, McColl flew up the rope, beating their time by three-tenths of a second.

== Rankings == {{See also|Best IFSC results}}

=== Climbing World Cup === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | Discipline<ref name="IFSC Worldcups" /> ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2003 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2004 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2005 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2006 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2007 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2008 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2009 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2010 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2011 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2012 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2013 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2014 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2015 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2016 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2017 |- | align="left" | Lead | 56 | - | - | 20 | - | 9 | 12 | 43 | 6 | 4 | 5 | style="background: silver" | 2 | 8 | 6 | 21 |- | align="left" | Bouldering | - | - | - | 27 | - | 8 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 5 | style="background: #cc9966" | 3 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 40 |- | align="left" | Speed | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 24 | 32 | 29 | 17 | 36 | 84 |- | align="left" | Combined | - | - | - | 11 | - | 6 | 6 | 6 | style="background: silver" | 2 | style="background: silver" | 2 | style="background: silver" | 2 | style="background: gold" | 1 | style="background: silver" | 2 | style="background: gold" | 1 | 41 |}

=== Climbing World Championships === '''Youth'''<ref name="IFSC profile" /> {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" ! style="background: #b0e0e6;" | Discipline ! style="background: #b0e0e6;" | 2001<br>Youth B ! style="background: #b0e0e6;" | 2002<br>Youth B ! style="background: #b0e0e6;" | 2003<br>Youth A ! style="background: #b0e0e6;" | 2004<br>Youth A ! style="background: #b0e0e6;" | 2005<br>Juniors ! style="background: #b0e0e6;" | 2006<br>Juniors |- | align="left" | Lead | - | style="background: gold" | 1 | style="background: gold" | 1 | style="background: gold" | 1 | 6 | style="background: gold" | 1 |- | align="left" | Speed | style="background: gold" | 1 | - | - | - | 8 | style="background: gold" | 1 |}

'''Adult'''<ref name="IFSC profile" /> {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | Discipline ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2007 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2009 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2011 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2012 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2014 ! style="background: #b0e0e6" | 2016 |- | align="left" | Lead | 41 | 5 | 13 | style="background: silver" | 2 | 6 | 6 |- | align="left" | Bouldering | 25 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 14 |- | align="left" | Speed | - | 43 | 53 | 43 | 26 | 38 |- | align="left" | Combined | - | style="background: gold" | 1 | - | style="background: gold" | 1 | style="background: gold" | 1 | style="background: gold" | 1 |}

== Number of medals in the Climbing European Youth Cup == === Lead === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! width = "55" | Season<ref name="IFSC profile" /> ! width = "55" | Category ! width = "55" style="background: gold;" | Gold ! width = "55" style="background: silver;"| Silver ! width = "55" style="background: #cc9966;"| Bronze ! width = "55" | Total |- |2001 || Youth B || || ||1 || 1 |- |2006 || Juniors || || ||1 || 1 |- | colspan=2 |'''Total''' || '''0''' || '''0''' || '''2''' || '''2''' |}

== Number of medals in the Climbing World Cup == === Lead === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! width = "55" | Season<ref name="IFSC profile" /> ! width = "55" style="background: gold;" | Gold ! width = "55" style="background: silver;"| Silver ! width = "55" style="background: #cc9966;"| Bronze ! width = "55" | Total |- |2008 || || ||1 || 1 |- |2009 || || ||1 || 1 |- |2010 || || || || 0 |- |2011 ||1 ||1 || || 2 |- |2012 ||1 ||1 ||2 || 4 |- |2013 || ||2 ||2 || 4 |- |2014 || ||3 || || 3 |- |2015 || ||1 ||1 || 2 |- |2016 ||1 || ||1 || 2 |- |2017 || ||1 || || 1 |- | '''Total''' || '''3''' || '''9''' || '''8'''||'''20''' |}

=== Bouldering === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! width = "55" | Season<ref name="IFSC profile" /> ! width = "55" style="background: gold;" | Gold ! width = "55" style="background: silver;"| Silver ! width = "55" style="background: #cc9966;"| Bronze ! width = "55" | Total |- | 2008 || || ||1 || 1 |- | 2009 || ||1 || || 1 |- | 2010 || ||1 || || 1 |- | 2011 || || ||1 || 1 |- | 2012 || ||2 ||1 || 3 |- | 2013 ||1 || || || 1 |- | 2014 || ||1 ||2 || 3 |- | 2015 ||1 || || || 1 |- | 2016 || || ||1 || 1 |- |2018 | |1 | |1 |- | '''Total''' || '''2''' ||'''6'''|| '''6'''||'''14''' |}

== Notable ascents == === Routes === In September 2009, McColl claimed the second ascent of ''Dreamcatcher'', a sport route in Squamish, British Columbia. Rated 5.14d on the Yosemite Decimal System, ''Dreamcatcher'' is considered one of the hardest climbing routes in Canada. It was first established and climbed by Chris Sharma in 2005, and was unrepeated for four years despite efforts by Ethan Pringle, Sonnie Trotter and Paul Robinson.<ref name="Dreamcatcher">{{cite news |url=http://www.climbing.com/news/mccoll-bags-2nd-ascent-of-dreamcatcher-514d/ |title=McColl Bags Second Ascent of Dreamcatcher (5.14d) |publisher=Climbing.com |author=MacDonald, Dougald |date=24 September 2009 |accessdate=5 July 2013}}</ref>

=== Boulders === In March 2012, McColl competed in the Hueco Rock Rodeo, an annual outdoor bouldering competition in Hueco Tanks, Texas. During the competition, he completed ''Nagual'' (rated V13 on the V-scale) in one attempt, an accomplishment known as a "flash". McColl is one of few climbers to have flashed a bouldering problem with such a high degree of difficulty.<ref name="V13 Flash">{{cite news |url=http://www.climbing.com/news/new-v14s-by-robinson-graham-2/ |title=New V14s by Robinson, Graham |author=Fox, Amanda |publisher=Climbing.com |date=6 March 2012 |accessdate=10 July 2013}}</ref>

==See also== {{Commons category}} *List of first ascents (sport climbing) *History of rock climbing *Rankings of most career IFSC gold medals

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="IFSC Worldcups">{{cite web|url=https://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition/ranking|title=World Cup Rankings|editor=IFSC|editor-link=International Federation of Sport Climbing|date=20 August 2019|access-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> <ref name="IFSC profile">{{cite web|url=https://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/component/ifsc/?view=athlete&id=5089|title=McColl's profile and rankings|editor=IFSC|editor-link=International Federation of Sport Climbing|date=20 August 2019|access-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> }}

== External links == * {{Official website|https://seanmccoll.com/}} * {{IFSC profile|id=1559|old_id=5089|archive=20200923094553}} {{Climber links | 8a = | climbing = sean-mccoll }} * {{World Games profile}} * {{Olympics.com profile}} * {{Olympedia}} * {{Instagram}}

{{Climbing World Championships Men's combined}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McColl, Sean}} Category:1987 births Category:Sportspeople from Vancouver Category:Canadian rock climbers Category:Canadian expatriates in France Category:Sport climbers at the 2023 Pan American Games Category:World Games bronze medalists for Canada Category:World Games medalists in sport climbing Category:Competitors at the 2013 World Games Category:Living people Category:Sport climbers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic sport climbers for Canada Category:IFSC Climbing World Championships medalists Category:IFSC Climbing World Cup overall medalists Category:Boulder climbers Category:Canadian competition climbers Category:Medalists at the 2017 World Games