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Anak Verhoeven

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Anak Verhoeven
Anak Verhoeven
Verhoeven at the 2018 World Championships, Innsbruck
Personal information
Born (1996-07-15) 15 July 1996 (age 28)
Schriek, Belgium
OccupationProfessional rock climber
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)[2]
Websitewww.anakverhoeven.be
Climbing career
Type of climber
Highest grade
Known for
First ascents
  • Sang Neuf (9a)
  • Sweef Neuf (9a+)
  • Ciudad de Dios pa la Enmienda (9a/9a+)
Retired2021 (competition)[1]
Medal record
Women's competition climbing
Representing  Belgium
World Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Lead
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2016 Paris Lead
World Cup
Second place 2016 Lead
Third place 2017 Lead
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Lead
Belgian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Lead
Gold medal – first place 2017 Lead
Updated on 23 January 2022

Anak Verhoeven (born 15 July 1996) is a Belgian rock climber who specializes in sport climbing and in competition lead climbing. She has repeatedly won the Belgian National Championship in lead climbing. In 2016, she ranked first on the IFSC World Ranking List. In 2017, she won both the World Games and IFSC Climbing European Championships.[3] Verhoeven is also one of the strongest female sport climbers, and in 2017, became the first-ever woman in history to establish a new 9a+ (5.15a) route, Sweet Neuf.[2]

Early life

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Verhoeven was born in Belgium and started to climb when she was 4 years old,[2] and both her parents were already climbers.[4][5]

Climbing career

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Competition climbing

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Verhoeven at the Climbing World Championships 2018 Lead Final

In 2012, at age 16, she started participating in the Lead Climbing World Cup, and by 2014, had become the Junior European Champion at the Championships in Edinburgh.[1] In 2015, she won the World Youth Championship in Italy, where she competed for the last time as a junior.[1] In the same year, she also participated in the Lead Climbing World Cup, where she ranked fourth.[1]

In 2016, she competed at the World Championships in Paris. During the finals, she managed to top the route but fellow competitor Janja Garnbret also topped and won gold due to countback.[1] In the same year, she also ranked second in the Lead Climbing World Cup.[1] Verhoeven ended the 2016 competition season as number 1 on the IFSC World Ranking List.[6] In 2017, she won both the World Games and IFSC Climbing European Championships.[3]

In late 2017, Verhoeven was forced to take time off from competition climbing with a serious elbow injury from which she did not fully recover until 2019.[7][2] In June 2021, Verhoeven announced that she was retiring from competition climbing to focus on her outdoor rock climbing projects.[1]

Rock climbing

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In September 2017, she did the first free ascent (FFA) of the 9a (5.14d) route Sang neuf, at Pierrot Beach in France, becoming the first-ever woman in history to do an FFA at that grade.[8][1] She then did the FFA of Sweet Neuf (links Sang Neuf with the 25-metere second pitch of Home Sweet Home), and proposed a 9a+ (5.15a) rating, which in June 2019 was confirmed by Cédric Lachat [fr] on repeating Sweet Neuf.[9] Her ascent of Sweef Neuf made her the second-ever woman in history to climb a 9a+ route (Margo Hayes was first), and the first-ever woman in history to do the FA of a 9a+ route.[4][10][11]

In December 2017, Verhoven did the FFA of the 9a/9a+ route Ciudad de Dios pa la Enmienda in Spain,[12] making her the first-ever female to do an FFA of a 9a, a 9a/+ or a 9a+ route (Angela Eiter did the first-ever female FFA of a 9b route).[1] In November 2019, she climbed her second 9a+, Joe Mama, in Spain.[13][1] In June 2020, Verhoeven made the FFA of Kraftio, a route that was bolted 15 years earlier but had repelled all attempts to scale it;[14] Verhoeven graded it 8c+/9a making it Belgium's hardest-ever sport climbing route, which she named in memory of the former Belgian climber Chloé Graftiaux.[15]

In May 2024, Verhoeven became fourth-ever female to redpoint a 9b (5.15b) graded route with her ascent of La Planta de Shiva at Villanueva del Rosario in Spain.[16]

Personal life

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Christian faith is an important part of Verhoeven's life,[17] which she said was not just inherited or copied from her parents, but a personal faith.[5][18]

Rankings

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Climbing World Cup

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Discipline 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Lead 34 9 4 4 2 3 11
Combined - - - - - 7 -

[19]

Climbing World Championships

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Youth[3]

Discipline 2010
Youth B 		2011
Youth B 		2012
Youth A 		2013
Youth A 		2015
Juniors
Lead 2 4 2 2 1

Adult[3]

Discipline 2012 2014 2016 2018
Lead 22 6 2 6

Climbing European Championships

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Youth[3]

Discipline 2012
Youth A 		2013
Youth A 		2014
Juniors 		2015
Juniors
Lead 3 2 1 2

Adult[3]

Discipline 2013 2015 2017
Lead 19 4 1

Number of medals in the Climbing European Youth Cup

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Lead

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Season[3] Category Gold Silver Bronze Total
2011 Youth B 5 5
2012 Youth A 3 2 5
2013 Youth A 1 1 2
2014 Juniors 1 1
Total 10 3 0 13

Number of medals in the Climbing World Cup

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Lead

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Season[3] Gold Silver Bronze Total
2014 2 2 4
2015 1 3 4
2016 2 3 5
2017 1 1 2 4
2018 2 2
Total 3 7 9 19

Notable ascents

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Redpointed routes

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9b (5.15b):

  • La Planta de Shiva – Villanueva del Rosario, Spain – 15 May 2024. The fourth-ever repeat of a 9b graded route by a female.[16]

9a+ (5.15a):

9a/9a+ :

9a (5.14d):

  • Esclatamasters – Perles, Spain – January 2022 – Verhoeven climbed the route twice on the same day.[23]
  • Joe Cita – Oliana, Spain – December, 2021.[7]
  • La prophétie des grenouilles – Rocher des Brumes, France – July, 2021.[24]
  • Sang Neuf – Pierrot Beach, France – 4 September 2017 – FFA, and first-ever creation of a new 9a route by a female in history.[4][1]
  • Era Vella – Margalef, Spain – April, 2015. Verhoeven's first 9a.[4][17]

8c+/9a :

  • Kraftio, Belgium – 4 June 2020 – First ascent and Belgium's hardest climbing route at the time; named in memory of Chloé Graftiaux.[15][14]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anak Verhoeven.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "5.15 Climber Anak Verhoeven Leaves Competition World". Gripped.com. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Shinde-Pawar, Nutan (29 June 2022). "She Was the First Woman to FA 5.15. What's Next?". Climbing. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h IFSC, ed. (20 August 2019). "Verhoeven's profile and rankings". Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e Corrigan, Kevin (12 September 2017). "Anak Verhoeven Completes First Female 5.15a First Ascent". Climbing. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b "CLIMBER PROFILE: ANAK VERHOEVEN". StickClip.com. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Anak Verhoeven klimt naar het zilver op WK". sporza (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  7. ^ a b "She Made History With 5.15a and Now Sends Another 5.14d". Gripped.com. 24 December 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  8. ^ Anak Verhoeven, ed. (11 September 2017). "Sang neuf 9a – First Ascent". Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  9. ^ planetmountain.com (ed.). "Cédric Lachat repeats Sweet Neuf, Anak Verhoeven's 9a+ and confirms grade". Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  10. ^ The Outdoor Journal (ed.). "Anak Verhoeven Becomes First Woman to Establish a 9a+". Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  11. ^ Schmidt, Toby. "Anak Verhoeven On Making the First Female 5.15a First Ascent". Rock & Ice. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  12. ^ planetmountain.com (ed.). "Laura Rogora and Anak Verhoeven score Sperlonga and Santa Linya first ascents". Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  13. ^ planetmountain.com, ed. (9 November 2019). "Anak Verhoeven 8b+ onsight, 9a+ redpoint at Oliana in Spain". Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Uncut: Anak Verhoeven Makes the First Ascent of Belgium's Hardest Route". Climbing. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Anak Verhoeven frees Kraftio, the hardest climb in Belgium dedicated to Chloé Graftiaux". PlanetMountain.com. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Anak Verhoven sends Planta de Shiva (9b) at Villanueva del Rosario in Spain". PlanetMountain. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Era Vella's Fourth Female Ascent". Gripped.com. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Ladies that Rock: Anak Verhoeven". Rock & Ice. 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  19. ^ IFSC, ed. (20 August 2019). "World Cup Rankings". Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  20. ^ Miller, Delaney (27 October 2022). "Anak Verhoeven Continues Sending Spree with 15a Tick". Climbing. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Anak Verhoeven rocks Rodellar with No pain no gain 9a+". PlanetMountain. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  22. ^ "Anak Verhoeven sends Patxitxulo 9a/+ at Oliana in Spain". PlanetMountain.com. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Anak Verhoeven climbs 2 x 9a - with an hour break". LACrux.com. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  24. ^ Larssen, Jens (20 July 2021). "INTERVIEW: La prophétie des grenouilles 9a by Anak Verhoeven". 8a.nu. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
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