Local gym sees national milestone as Saanich athlete hits elite benchmark
At a climbing gym in Central Saanich, a fraction of a second widened into a national first.
On Aug. 13, 25-year-old Brentwood resident Ethan Flynn-Pitcher clocked a training run of 4.996 seconds on the standardized 15-metre speed wall at The Boulders Climbing Gym. The time, recorded during practice, makes him the first Canadian to break the five-second barrier in speed climbing, a mark that separates the sport’s elite.
The run comes as Flynn-Pitcher prepares to travel to Curitiba, Brazil, for the World Climbing Pan American Championships on Aug. 22–23, where he will attempt to reproduce that performance in competition and make the milestone official.
- Training run: 4.996 seconds (Aug. 13)
- Previous official Canadian record: 5.1 seconds
- Previous best in training: 5.0 seconds
Speed climbing is a precise, explosive discipline: competitors race up a 15-metre wall with a slight overhang and identical holds on every route. Breaking five seconds equates to climbing at roughly 11 km/h on the wall — a speed that places an athlete among the very fastest globally.
“Only 34 men have broken the five-second barrier in competition — something competitors who want to end up on the podium are going to have to do moving forward,”
said Libor Hroza, manager at The Boulders and Flynn-Pitcher’s coach, drawing attention to how exclusive the club of sub-five climbers remains at the international level.
Flynn-Pitcher described the achievement as the product of years of incremental work. He told reporters the climb was the culmination of long-term training to shave tenths of a second from his time: a progression that saw his official national best at 5.1 seconds and his previous training peak at 5.0.
“I’ve been training for years and years and years just to take 10ths of a second off,” Flynn-Pitcher said. When the clock stopped at 4.996, he said the sensation was one of pure adrenaline.
What this means for Saanich climbing and the wider sport
The milestone has a practical local impact. The Boulders, as a Central Saanich facility, now finds itself recognised as the training ground for a national milestone. That visibility can attract more athletes to the gym, raise the profile of competitive climbing on the Saanich Peninsula, and inspire local youth considering the sport.
Race climbing has become increasingly technical and competitive, with marginal gains deciding podium placements. Flynn-Pitcher’s breakthrough underscores the level of planning, coaching and repetition required to push a national standard.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Athlete | Ethan Flynn-Pitcher |
| Gym | The Boulders Climbing Gym, Central Saanich |
| Training time | 4.996 seconds (Aug. 13) |
| Event next | World Climbing Pan American Championships, Curitiba, Brazil (Aug. 22–23) |
For Saanich-area climbers and coaches, the achievement will likely prompt discussions about how to support athletes training for the highest levels — from access to standard walls and timing equipment to coaching for explosive power, footwork and psychological preparation.
As Flynn-Pitcher heads overseas to test his training under competitive conditions, Saanich watchers and fellow climbers will be tracking whether the sub-five mark holds in competition and whether Canada’s speed-climbing profile can rise on the international stage.
In the meantime, the moment belongs to a local athlete who turned countless repetitions on a Central Saanich wall into a national first, and to a community gym that provided the space for a fraction of a second to become a headline.
