Vályi Gergő (17) aims much higher after his breakthrough

Vályi Gergő has won six of the last nine Euro Youth Cups he has done since 2019. This can be compared to being on average #18 in eight Euro Cups in 2018. With limited outdoor possibilities in Hungary in combination with the travel restriction due to Covid-19, he has not yet had many possibilities pushing hard on the rock. On a short summer trip in 2019, at age 14, he did his first two 8A+.

Could you please say something about your amazing progress since 2018?
2018 was my first year in international comps, so I didn't have a good competition routine as Hungarian national cups do not meet the European standard. I had to start participating in more professional competitions to get used to the higher standards. The 2019 season started relatively well and later I made it to the podium in two Boulder European Youth Cups (two silvers). I was not expecting that and I didn’t think Lead would go well either. My goal was to make it to the finals and since this was the first competition, I wasn't nervous. I think it contributed a lot to the victory. After three Lead European Youth Cups which I won, I was hoping for the best from the Youth European Championship which also was fulfilled. I don't know how I was able to accomplish this, but I think the essence was that I competed for the love of climbing, not for the result.

How do you train and how much do you train outdoors?
I have three boulder and only one lead training session in a week because max power is the weakest link in the chain for me. This needs to be strengthened. In boulder training, I mostly climb on the spray wall. Lead trainings are all about developing endurance, in which case I climb a lot of routes combinations into double or triple climbs. Here in Hungary, I don't train on hard routes, because the hardest is 8a or sometimes 8a+, so I am forced to climb more of the easier ones. I have used a small fingerboard for the last five months because the pulley hurts in my ring finger. I really don't want to get an injury before the season. Unfortunately, I climb less outdoors which I like better than plastic.

I have climbed almost all harder routes in Kis-Gerecse, the best lead climbing crag in Hungary. Here I climbed my hardest routes like Bányarém 8c, Zed is dead 8c/+, and Karnevál 8b+, but I think the latter is the hardest one of the three. Sometimes I climb abroad too and I onsighted some 8a and 8a+ in Osp recently. Fortunately, we usually have outdoor training camps after the competitions.

What are your plans and hope for this year?
In 2022, I’ll try some of the World Cups and do a couple of youth competitions. It is my and my country’s goal to qualify as many people as possible for the European Championship. I want to be the first Hungarian to reach the semi-finals or even the finals of a World Cup and I want to get in my best shape in every competition. In addition, I want to climb my first 9a or even 9a+ still in this year.