A Kelowna man has reached the podium on the world stage, just a few short years after taking up the sport of para-climbing.
Shamus Boulianne told Global News he never felt quite at home on the basketball court as a child, but on boulders, found his groove as an adult.
“I never wanted my limb difference to hold me back in any real meaningful way,” Boulianne said, near a particularly large boulder he trains on.
“You know, you see people climbing with all 10 fingers and you’re like, ‘Oh, I can never do that right?’ But I surprise myself every day with what I’m capable now.”
Para-climbing is described by Climbing Escalade Canada as a “new sport” and divided into multiple classifications based on an athlete’s challenges. There are classifications for paraplegics, amputees, those with visual impairments, and people whose range of power is impacted by various other physical conditions.
Boulianne started competing internationally in 2021, when he placed 3rd at the Paraclimbing World Cup in Los Angeles. The next year, he also won 3rd prize at the same competition in Salt Lake City.
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In March, he took home silver at the U.S. Paraclimbing National Championships, and he hopes to win big at the world championships in August as well.
“That’s a big stage and I want to show my best there,” he said. “I climb four to five times a week.”
Boulianne said his biggest challenge is holding onto the small edges of a boulder, relying on what he describes as the “meaty part” of his right wrist, as well as his thumb and knuckle.
It’s not the same grip as four fingers and a thumb, which means “there’s a lot more sort of full body engagement.”
“Every climb presents a new challenge and I’m always kind of learning more about how I can use my hand and what capabilities I have. It’s a really interesting sport for that.”
Boulianne, a member of the Canadian national team, said his personal goal is to become the world champ of this fledgling sport, and more broadly, see para-climbing achieve the same popularity that it has in the U.S.
“My goal would be to have a bunch of young guys join the team, beat me — and then I can be the retired old guy who helped grow the sport,” he said.
— with files from Elizabeth McSheffrey
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