A Frenchwoman broke the world record for rope climbing by ascending the first floor of the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday, French media reported.
Anouk Garnier, 34, completed the 110 metres in 18 minutes, setting a new record. Garnier said, after scaling the free-hanging rope to reach the record two minutes more quickly than expected:
My dream has come true. It’s magical. If there was one thing I never doubted, it was that I was going to do it.
She took on this challenge for her mother, who has cancer, to raise money for League Against Cancer, an organisation dedicated to cancer prevention and patient support. Garnier said:
I saw her struggling so much that I wanted to do my part.
The previous world record was held by South African athlete Thomas Van Tonder, who in 2020 climbed 90 metres on a rope between the Soweto Towers in Johannesburg. The women’s record was held by Danish athlete Dane Ida Mathilde Steensgaard, who in 2022 climbed 26 metres on a rope at the Copenhagen Opera House.
Garnier now holds the record for the highest climb and the highest women’s climb. She started climbing in 2022 after winning the world obstacle course championship in her age category and was looking for a new challenge. She was inspired by Steensgaard’s success, she said. She told AFP:
I said to myself: 26 metres isn’t that far, what monument could I climb?
Now Garnier wants to take a break, but it will be a short one because her schedule is already fully booked.
As well as obstacle courses, which she plans to take up again after giving them up a few months ago, she will carry the Olympic flame in Marseille on May 9 and then become an ambassador for the Olympic volunteer programme in Paris this summer.
