Muriel Sarkany sends her first 9a with Punt-X

Muriel Sarkany marked our minds today. At 3:27 pm, she became the first Belgian and also the fourth women in history to send a route graded 9a. Since her retirement from competitions in 2010, Muriel always kept on climbing having one goal in her mind: take a lot of pleasure. Punt-X in the Gorges du Loup is a dream that comes true but also the result of a lot of efforts. For her, it started in 2012. "I started trying Punt-X in fall 2012. At that time we quickly had to move because of the rain..." comments Muriel. "This year, I went back in the route end of August but I really started to work it again in october. At that time, a move in the middle of the route was very difficult for me. I could do it one time on five. I understood not so long ago a foot sequence that allowed me to do the move every time. I still had to work a lot my resistance as I was only at half of the route."
The changing weather condition blocked Muriel for some time. After coming back in Belgium for ten days, she went back in the Nice region last weekend. New weather conditions: freezing temperatures.
Muriel: "We arrived on Saturday. It was super cold. Thanks to that, I put two very good runs the day after. The day before yesterday, I climbed for the first time to the last hold. Today we could see snow on the mountains on the other side of the valley. It was so cold I had to wait for the sun to be able to climb. At the moment the crag got back into the shade, I sent Punt-X."

The performance of our compatriot is exceptional. When we ask her her age, Muriel smiles: "I turned 39 in August." Emotions are there with her. "This feels like when I won the World Championship in Chamonix in 2003. It's almost the same. All this work that pays off, it feels really good."

Muriel Sarkany's website

Picture: Muriel Sarkany in Ultimate Sacrifice

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