Matthew Phillips (climber)
Matthew Phillips is a British paraclimber. He competes on the Great Britain Paraclimbing Team, where he was the youngest member,[1] and is the current World Champion in the AU2[2] (Upper Arm Amputation) category.[3] He is coached by GB Team's Head Coach Robin O'Leary.[4]
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | Matt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Farnborough, Hampshire, England | 14 November 2000||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Climbing instructor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Climbing career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type of climber | Sport climbing, bouldering | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highest grade |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Known for |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Major ascents | Reefer Madness, 6c Clear Creek (Colorado), USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World finals | World Champion 2018, 2019, 2021 AU2 Category | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Updated on 10 September 2019. |
Biography
Phillips was born missing his right lower arm from the elbow down. He started out as a national swimmer, but switched to climbing when he was around 13.[5] He attended Salesian College in Farnborough.[6] He started climbing seriously in 2014.[7] In 2016 he was featured in the Channel 4's Paralympics trailer 'We're the Superhumans'.[7] in 2018 he won the Young Sports Personality of the Year in the Sport Guildford Awards.[8]
He left school in 2019 and spent time in Boulder, Colorado climbing with his coach Robin O'Leary and a number of US climbers. Whilst out there he was joined by film maker David Petts of Volo Digital to film footage for the film 'One of Kind[9]' which is available on Epic TV YouTube channel. Phillips returned to the United Kingdom where he now works as a Climbing Instructor at Surrey Summit, alongside competing.[10]
Filmography
- July 2016 – We're the Superhumans, television advert produced by Channel 4 for 2016 Summer Paralympics[11]
- May 2018 – At Arms Length, YouTube produced by Teri Limongi[12]
- Dec 2018 – Matthew Phillips Shows Us His Moves At Blokfest Brighton | Climbing Daily Ep.1315, YouTube produced by Epic TV Climbing Daily[13]
- May 2020 – One of a Kind, YouTube produced by David Petts[14]
- Sep 7 2021 – Sport Climbing Caves On The UK Coast, YouTube produced by EpicTV[15]
- Sep 28 2021 – Day in the Life of a Route Setting World Champion, YouTube produced by EpicTV[16]
- Nov 2 2021 – Steep + Powerful: Bouldering At Lulworth Cove, YouTube produced by EpicTV[17]
Competitions
Phillips has competed in a number of national and international competitions. In 2016 he won the Paraclimbing Cup in June in Italy,[6] and in September in Sheffield.[18] In 2017 he finished second at the Cup in Edinburgh and first at the Cup in Sheffield.[19] In 2018 he won both the Cup in Briançon[20] and the World Championships in Innsbruck.[21]
In the ParaClimb Scotland 2019 Competition Phillips took gold in what is thought to have been the first Para-Speed Climbing event, on an international approved speed wall, in the United Kingdom with a time of 25.36s. Although his personal best came on the first qualifying route at 23.11s.[22]
In 2019 he successfully defended his world title by winning a gold medal at the World Paraclimbing Championships in Briançon in France.[23] He became Three times World Paraclimbing Champion in 2021 when he won Gold in Moscow[24]
References
- "Guildford teenager wins paraclimbing world championship". Eagle Radio. 29 September 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- Hatch, Tim (April 2018). "IFSC Paraclimbing Classifications, Sec 14" (PDF). ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- "Brilliant performance from GB athletes at IFSC World Championships". thebmc.co.uk. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- "GB Paraclimber Matthew Phillips wants to be World Champion and The Terminator". Birchall Blackburn Law. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- "Crazy Strength: Matt Phillips Crushes Rock Climbing with One Arm". BarBend. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- "Gold for Matthew Phillips at World Paraclimbing Cup". GLL Sport Foundation. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- Khaleeli, Homa (20 July 2016). "We're the Superhumans: meet the stars of Channel 4's Paralympics trailer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- "An evening of celebration at the Sport Guildford Awards 2018 | Surrey Chambers". www.surrey-chambers.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- Petts, David. "One of a Kind". Epic TV. Retrieved 19 May 2020 – via YouTube.
- "Climbing".
- Khaleeli, Homa (20 July 2016). "We're the Superhumans: meet the stars of Channel 4's Paralympics trailer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
- Teri Limongi (17 December 2018), At Arms Length |, retrieved 14 March 2019
- EpicTV Climbing Daily (17 December 2018), Matthew Phillips Shows Us His Moves at Blokfest Brighton | Climbing Daily Ep.1315, retrieved 14 March 2019
- David Petts (8 May 2020), One of a Kind |, retrieved 8 May 2020
- EpicTV (7 September 2021), Sport Climbing Caves On The UK Coast |, retrieved 7 September 2021
- EpicTV (28 September 2021), Day in the Life of a Route Setting World Champion |, retrieved 28 September 2021
- EpicTV (2 November 2021), Steep + Powerful: Bouldering At Lulworth Cove |, retrieved 2 November 2021
- "Paraclimbing Cup (L) – Sheffield (GBR) 2016". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- "Paraclimbing Cup (L) – Sheffield (GBR) 2017". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- "3 gold medals, 1 bronze for GB Paraclimbing Team at Briançon". thebmc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- Climbing, Austria. "Matthew Phillips und Thierry Delarue sind Paraclimbing Weltmeister in den Kategorien M-AU2 und M-AL2". innsbruck2018 (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- "2019 Scottish Paraclimbing Festival – Results". Climb Scotland. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- "IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships – Briançon (FRA) 2019". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- "IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships – Moscow 2021". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 17 September 2021.