2 IFSC Gold wins for Depot athletes Emma Edwards & Erin McNeice

Here is a round-up of Depot Climbing athletes’ participation in both the recent IFSC Lead World Cup in Bali and the European Cup in Brussels over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of May 2025.

Erin McNeice continued her strong start to the season, while Emma Edwards took her first senior Gold during her first senior season, as the current European Youth Bouldering Champion.

Erin McNeice at the IFSC Lead World Cup in Bali

After a momentous start to the World Cup series over the last couple of weeks, we were excited to see what Erin would achieve at this Lead World Cup in Bali, as the only Depot Athlete to compete this time round.

The question on everyone’s mind is, would Erin take top spot? Or would the previous round co-gold medal holder in Wujiang, Chaehyun Seo of Korea, take the win? With so many great athletes competing from countries around the world, it was a great World Cup to watch.

Erin put in an almost flawless performance in qualifications, scoring 1.94 and securing top spot with Ai Mori of Japan as they moved into the semi-finals. Erin’s strong performance continued in semi’s, reaching the top alongside Chaehyun Seo of Korea, putting Erin in top spot entering finals.

In finals, athletes performed well on the route from the get-go, with Oceania Mackenzie of Australia just missing out on a top. Oceania held top spot as the next three climbers fell lower down on the route. Laura Rogora of Italy pushed past Oceania for top spot, falling with just 10 seconds on the clock.

Ai Mori, having demonstrated incredible feats at beta breaking attempts in the semi-finals (crimping a no-tex volume…yes, seriously), came out strong, and after downclimbing to a missed clip, and beta breaking to eliminate a dynamic move, reached the top one second after the timer went, and so achieved 45, instead of a top.

This meant that the top spots, again, were Erin and Chaehyun’s to play for. Chaehyun topped the route with 18 seconds to go. The two climbers’ point separation in qualifications meant that if Erin topped the route, due to count back, gold would be hers.

Erin left us with no doubts as she breezed through the overhung section of the route, one-arming her way through the campus section. With 14 seconds to go Erin completed the last move of the route, and clipping into the top, secured her second Gold medal, and this time, she got it to herself. A great result for Erin and Team GB, congratulations Erin! 

Emma Edwards at the IFSC European Cup

Depot Climbing athlete Emma Edwards marked a fine start to her debut senior season on the circuit by taking Gold at the European Cup in Brussels, Belgium, to follow on from her 35th place in qualification at the Keqiao World Cup in China just 3 weeks previously.

Emma dominated the qualifying round, achieving 6 flashes from 6 blocs, alongside Lily Abriat of France and Geila Macia Martin of Spain, before a 7th placed finish in a tough semi’s saw her through to the final despite not topping a boulder.

Quickly recovering from semis, Emma turned on the dominance again in finals, taking gold with 3 tops and 4 zones, putting her ahead of 2nd and 3rd by a top and attempts to zone.  

Emma is no stranger to the podium, having been a challenger at youth level, signing off her youth competing days with the title of European Youth Boulder Champion. She’s quickly taken to the senior side of competitive climbing, adding another 1st place medal to her cabinet.

We caught up with Emma in the aftermath of her win and she had this to say about her performance:

“It feels amazing to have won! I enjoyed all the blocs, however, I struggled a lot in the semifinals, but I was so excited to have still made the finals that I decided I just wanted to enjoy it.  In finals, I managed to smile a lot more and felt really good while climbing.  The crowd was crazy, and it really motivated me to top the boulders. I had so much fun!”

Emma is a graduate of the Depot Climbing Academy, and her achievements make everyone very proud, as the world now sees what an athlete Emma is. Congratulations on your first senior podium win, Emma. Everyone at our walls will be watching the rest of your season with keen interest.

What’s next?

The next round of international events to be attended by our athletes is the Salt Lake City World Cup (boulder), with fellow athlete Lucy Keyworth attending the Para Climbing World Cup in Salt Lake earlier in the week. Stay tuned for further updates from our incredible athletes.