Molly Thompson-Smith flashes two 8A's

Molly Thompson-Smith, who was #19 in the Paris Olympics, has flashed Catatonica (8A+) in Brione and Teamwork (8A) in Chironico.

Can you tell us more about the flashes?
I arrived in Ticino yesterday from the U.K. on my birthday [27] and went straight to the boulders in Brione! I had an early start and long travel day so decided to take it easy and maybe just look at potential hard projects (like Versace (8B)). My boyfriend Sam [Prat] saw this little boulder just beneath it and when we saw it was 8A [Catatonica] and my style (crimpy), he suggested I give it a good flash go.

Sam remembered seeing a video of Marine on it, which is how we figured out what the bloc is. I watched that but ended up using different beta that I came up with during my attempt! After a bit of prep, and some hard crimping I was stood on the top - it was a great way to spend my birthday!

Teamwork was at the end of a long day watching friends climb. It was close to the road and Sam also thought I had a good chance at flashing it or climbing it quickly, so I decided to have a go before we headed home. The boulder looked really nice and really my style, so I was psyched to give it a good flash go. Luckily I was right and it felt pretty steady :)

What is next?
I’m just here on holiday after an intense year with the Olympics, and then spending a lot of time on a project at home, so I’m excited to support my partner Sam on his projects, and maybe climb some more 8As😊