Gold for the boy who climbed out of his cot… and just kept going! Joy for 19-year-old who hauled his way into the history books to win Britain’s first-ever climbing medal

As a baby, Toby Roberts would climb out of his cot. Then, as a small boy, he was scaling trees.

Yesterday – aged just 19 – he hauled his way into the history books, winning gold at the Olympics in Paris, Britain’s first ever climbing medal.

The sporting prodigy – nicknamed the Terminator because of his gutsy style – put his head in his hands in disbelief before being gathered up by his family in the crowd below. 

He said he planned to celebrate by getting ‘very, very drunk’.

‘Going into the competition, I tried to remove all expectations and then to realise I’d won the gold, it’s just a rush of adrenaline and emotion and ­happiness,’ he said.

Aged just 19 Toby Roberts hauled his way into the history books, winning gold at the Olympics in Paris in Britain’s first ever climbing medal

Golden boy: Roberts is the youngest man to win an individual gold for Britain since boxer Terry Spinks in 1956.

Emotional moment: Roberts celebrates with his father, Tristan, who helped coach his son

Hugs for mum: There was pure joy as Roberts realised he had won the gold medal and embraced his mother, Marina

His mother Marina, 57, who works in marketing and was watching with his sisters Emma, 28, Katie, 18, and brother James, 26, turned to him after the thrilling final and said: ‘What have you done to us, Toby?’

His gold medal – Team GB‘s 14th – was the culmination of a ten-year plan devised by Roberts, from Elstead, near Godalming, Surrey, and his father-turned-coach Tristan, 45.

Roberts – who at one point in the final was hanging from the 50ft wall by one arm – started climbing after becoming ‘hooked’ aged seven when he tried the sport at an after-school club run by a ‘wacky science teacher’ at the £20,000-a-year Edgeborough School.

The instructor was said to have been left bemused and told his parents ‘most people stop when their skin hurts. 

‘He’s tried that climb 100 times’.

As Roberts’ love for the sport grew, his father realised his passion went far beyond a childhood hobby – so he built a climbing wall in their garden and set about teaching himself all he could about the sport, having never climbed himself, to help his son.

Aged ten, Roberts became the youngest Briton to scale the 8a Raindogs route at Malham Cove in North Yorkshire. 

During the Covid-19 lockdowns, he honed his skills in his garden and his father – described as rope-holder, coach, taxi and bank – rented accommodation in Austria to gain access to better faculties.

The father and son created a plan after the Tokyo Games to get Roberts to the next Olympics and achieved their dream when he was selected to represent Team GB. 

He finished second in qualifying after Wednesday’s semi-final and went into yesterday’s final hopeful of a medal. 

During the Covid-19 lockdowns, Toby honed his skills on a climbing frame built in his garden

Eyes on the prize: Roberts has wanted to compete in climbing since he was a youngster

Roberts put himself in a strong position and was sitting in third place after the first ‘bouldering’ round – where competitors climb 4.5m high walls without ropes, in a limited time and in the fewest attempts possible.

The athletes then had to scale a 15m wall, earning more points the higher they got. 

Roberts – who listened to Eminem’s Lose Yourself, to get himself ‘pumped up’ – went second to last and made his way up to score 92.1 points before slipping.

Japan’s Sorato Anraku, 17, went next. In a nail-biting climax that had the 6,000-strong Le Bourget crowd on the edge of their seats, he fell just ten points shy of the target for gold and had to settle for silver.

Roberts said afterwards: ‘I’ve been training for this moment my whole life, and now I’ve just won. 

‘To say it hasn’t sunk in is an understatement. I don’t really know what to think right now, but I imagine later, there’s just going to be a flood of emotions.’

His father added: ‘We never talked about medals, just what can he do and the path to get there. 

‘Everyone can have a good plan, but to implement it like he has and show up every day and show up every day to make it happen, that is what he has done.’

Britain is now sitting fifth in the medal table with 57 overall.

There are 14 teenagers in Team GB’s squad at the Paris Games. 

Roberts is the youngest man to win an individual gold for Britain since boxer Terry Spinks in 1956.