Introduction

Alexey Rubtsov (RUS) Age: 32

Alexey Rubtsov is a legend of the competition climbing world. Coming relatively late into climbing, Rubtsov only took up the sport as a 17-year-old. At the age of 20 he was Bouldering World Champion!

From the beginning of his career Rubtsov displayed the physical and mental attributes required to be a successful competitive climber. Training with Russian competition legends like Dmitrii Sharafutdinov and Rustam Gelmanov, Rubtsov moved rapidly to the top of the sport. There he remained for a decade before ripping his bicep attachment from the bone during a finals problem in a competition in Slovenia in 2018. That could have been the end of the road for the incredibly talented Russian, but as always, he fought back, relearning how to climb with his repaired arm and regaining the fitness he had lost.

Qualification route

IFSC Europe Continental Championships: 1st Place

If anyone benefitted from the rescheduling of the European championships it was Rubtsov; the extra months of training being hugely beneficial to the legend. From a mental perspective he had a huge head start having won multiple major events in his long career, but those extra months allowed him to get back into prime physical condition for the qualifying event.

In the event, Rubtsov showed that it wasn’t just his bouldering prowess that would serve him well, but his consistency across all three disciplines. In the finals score of 5, 1 and 4 were enough to see him snatch victory in front of a deep and talented field.

Trivia

When Rubtsov opened the first dedicated bouldering gym in Moscow, his choice of name would turn out to be providential. Climbin Tokyo became the hub for a strong new generation of Russian climbers, but it was the gym's founder that will be climbing in Tokyo at the Olympics!

Alexey is also an incredibly accomplished outdoor boulderer, and has spared no effort to climb in iconic locations around the world. From Hampi, India, to the US, and of course to the climbing meccas of Europe. With his wife, Alexey would undertake ridiculous road trips to fulfil his climbing dreams. Indeed, after spending weeks in Europe climbing in 2015 he left the afterparty at the Munich World Cup (which he had just won) early to drive the 30+ hours it takes to get back to Moscow!

UKC prediction

We find Rubtsov a hard climber to place. In his prime you would have pencilled him in for a podium. Now, as an older climber having come back from a major injury, it will be his innate climbing ability and experience competing under pressure that will be his greatest strengths.
We predict Rubtsov will make finals but finish off the podium, around 7^th.