Introduction

Introduced to climbing through a friend as a child, two-time World Youth Champion and three-time Italian Champion in Speed Beatrice Colli is Italy’s only female representative in Speed, joining compatriot Matteo Zurloni. She hails from the northern tip of Lake Como.

In 2022, Beatrice progressed to the IFSC World Cup circuit after achieving multiple World and European titles and medals at junior level. She reached the top-16 in her first World Cup in Seoul, finishing 12th. That year, her results went from strength to strength, her best finish being a 6th place in Salt Lake City. In 2023, she just missed out on her first World Cup medal, reaching the Small Final and finishing 4th in Villars. Her only senior medal to date is a silver at the IFSC European Cup in Lublin in 2024. 

A popular figure on the Speed circuit, Beatrice regularly trains at camps with the French in Voiron and Eastern European teams in Lublin, Poland. For much of her career, she has trained on non-official Speed wall replicas, which are shorter than the official wall or at a slightly different angle. Her hard work and sense of humour come across in her Instagram Reels, which give an honest insight into the brutal training regime of Speed climbers and the all-or-nothing, relentless nature of racing head-to-head - which Beatrice seems to take in her stride. 

Qualification route

Olympic Qualifier Series - 13th

An 11th and 14th place in the OQS led to 13th overall, setting a PB of 6.95 seconds in Shanghai. With many ineligible athletes ahead of her, Beatrice was convinced that she hadn’t done enough after losing her last race. In fact, she had just made it, taking the last spot - the reallocated Universality place - and bursting into tears on being told that her dream had come true. 

Trivia

Beatrice has suffered from Haglund’s Syndrome, a painful bone deformity in the heel. She was given a specially-made climbing shoe with a soft heel to help her climb with the condition. She calls footslips in Speed “banana” moments. 

UKC prediction

Beatrice’s PB of 6.91 seconds places her at the slower end of the women’s Speed spectrum, but Paris will be an excellent experience for the young athlete who is yet to break onto the senior podium. We predict a 10th-14th place.