Anouck Jaubert: Qualified Olympian and Former Speed World Record Holder
The French Speed specialist Anouck Jaubert tied the IFSC Speed World Cup record in 2018 and is one of the few Speed climbers heading to Tokyo.
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27-year-old Anouck Jaubert, hailing from Grenoble, is one of France’s four Olympic-qualified climbers, along with Julia Chanourdie and the Mawem brothers, Bassa and Mickaël. France is one of only three countries fielding four competitors in Tokyo (the other two are Japan and the USA).
Jaubert received her Olympic ticket after finishing 11th Combined at the 2019 Hachioji World Championships (where she placed third in Speed), via the unused Tripartite Commission quota from that comp. Only Pakistan’s Zàhéér Ahmád qualified for the quota slot, but since he did not compete in all three disciplines, he forfeited his spot. Italian Michael Piccolruaz, who placed 14th, also received an Olympic ticket by the same quota default.
A Speed specialist, Jaubert placed first overall in the 2018 Speed IFSC World Cup season and second the following year. In 2018, she also made international news by tying Iuliia Kaplina’s (RUS) Women’s Speed World Record time of 7.32 seconds during the Moscow World Cup.
Currently, the record sits at 6.96, a time also scored by Kaplina in November of last year.
Despite the 2020 hiatus, Jaubert appears in fine form post-pandemic, with Speed rankings among the top of the pack. She scored seventh place in Villars and fifth in Salt Lake City in the discipline. She holds an overall Speed placement of fifth for the 2021 IFSC season so far.
Her Lead and Boulder results have been less promising, with a 48th place finish in Villars Lead, and earlier in the summer, 43rd and 48th place finishes during the Bouldering World Cups in Innsbruck and Salt Lake City, respectively.
As is the case with many of the climbers heading to Tokyo, Jaubert is a specialist in one discipline. She’s without a doubt one of the world’s top Speed climbers, and given her history, there’s no reason to assume she won’t put on a standout Speed showing in Tokyo. Given Tokyo’s Combined format, however, what it’ll come down to for Anouck Jaubert is: Will she be able to break out of the Speed bubble and rack up some points in Bouldering and Lead?