Sascha Lehmann climbs Estado Critico in Siurana and Los ultimos Vampiros in Margalef

The young Swiss Sascha Lehmann succeeds in two hard ascent in the Spanish sports climbing areas siurana and Margalef: Estado Critico (9a) and los ultimos vampiros (8c, 2nd go).

You had a knee injury and have been stronger than ever since recovery. What was your recipe for success?
I think after the injury just a lot of things fit together. The operation went smoothly and I had a good team around me that motivated me to work hard. Since I was not allowed to climb, I had a lot of time to concentrate on strength training and I have certainly improved in this area.

The "advantage" of an injury is that the pleasure of everything goes back and the doctor allows one to be the greater. So even training in the weight room really fun, after two weeks, the apartment could hardly leave. In addition, you make great progress quickly, which motivates an additional. I was able to start in my first competitions without too much expectations and was just glad that I was able to do it again.

But there are many other factors that must be right. It takes a lot of concentrated work in the rehab and then a little luck, that everything goes up as you hoped.

Sascha Lehmann in the 8c route Los ultimos vampiros in Margalef, Spain (picture Sascha Lehmann).

For Vampiros you only needed two tries. How many sessions or trials did Estado cost you?
I have Estado Critico tried for the first time a year ago. Already on the second day I was very close to the throughway, could unfortunately not finish the route in the few days I spent in Spain. At that time, I made an estimated 10 attempt in four days of climbing. I originally planned to travel to Siurana again in February 2018 to complete the project. However, this was not possible due to the knee injury. This year I needed another four days and seven attempts to reach the deflector.

How do you describe Estado? Is the route style or was it an anti-style route?
Estado is more of a stamina route. The first twenty meters are not too difficult, but it is important that you do not get tired. The upper part of the 40 meter long route is quite persistently heavy. It does not have a single crux, the difficulty is to string all the moves that can be made, as there is no more pleasant shaker in the upper part.

Basically, I like such persistent routes. I struggle with extremely heavy moves, but am good at climbing and fighting to save energy. However, in December I worked almost exclusively on building up strength for the coming season. So my endurance was not at the best level and I had to adjust myself to this long route. But I quickly got used to the strain and felt better with every attempt.

Sascha in the first part of the 9a route Estado Critico - Siurana, Spain (picture Sascha Lehmann).

How long have you been in Spain?
I was just in there for a week Spain.

What are your goals for the current year (rock and plastic)?
For me, this year will surely continue to be the Betting champ in focus. The big goal this season is for me a qualification for the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020. As some places will be awarded at the World Championships in August, this gains even more importance. The World Cup is sure to be a highlight of the season and I concentrate on the combination. I will also compete in all disciplines in the World Cup this year, so that I have the opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games in the selection competition in Toulouse in November. The goal in my main discipline Lead is a podium finish at a World Cup.

At the moment I have no concrete goals on the rock, but this summer I would like to participate in the 9a's in gimmelwald try.

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