Julia Chanourdie

Julia Chanourdie is a French international rock climber. Born in 1996, Chanourdie’s family are all keen climbers with a base in the Alpine landscape of the Haute-Savoie. Her family own a climbing hall near her home, and her father Eric is her coach. Although she is mainly involved in competing at a top level in lead climbing events, she also climbs outdoors. Chanourdie is widely renowned for her achievements in rock climbing, at several international events.

Chanourdie won her first competition when she was just 8 years old and went on to finish third in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 World Youth Championships. Having shown great promise at a young age, Chanourdie moved into senior World Cup finals finishing fifth and sixth in 2015 and 2016. One of Chanourdie’s most significant achievements was winning the bronze medal at the World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland. Aside from competing, she has been very successful in her outdoor climbs – in 2017 she climbed a 9a route at Tetto di Sarre, in Italy’s Valle d’ Aosta. Chanourdie said “It’s definitely the best moment, to be like the queen of the world for an instant”.

Chanourdie is known by many in the sport as being naturally strong and athletic – she works hard, training 25 hours every week. Chanourdie recently achieved qualification to represent France at the summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.