A fast climb to the top for Magdalena
Crowds of anxious climbers stand below the daunting, high walls at Rocktopia, as the 2026 Zespri AIMS Games rock-climbing quarter finals get underway.
With cheers drowning out the music around them, more and more competitors race to beat the speed-run clock and reach the top first.
One of the climbers is Magdalena Bowman who showcases her skills by scaling up the walls into 2nd place in her quarter-final.
Magdalena is Te Puna School’s only entrant in the Year 7 girls competition. There has been a record 177 entries in rock climbing this year – 49 of those in Year 7 girls.
She has been climbing for around three and a half years and has been training on indoor climbing equipment ready to represent Te Puna School.
As well as training to compete in Netball this week, Magdalena has practiced her climbing and grip strength on different levels of rock walls in order to prepare for her AIMS debut.
The effort paid off with Magdalena eventually taking out 3rd place in the overall competition for Year 7, Girls with 1st place to Nina Fookes from Auckland Normal Intermediate Nina Fookes, and 2nd place to Trixie de Jong from Mt Maunganui Intermediate.
Magdalena Bowman
