François Petit (born March 27, 1975) is a French professional
rock climber
Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and ...
who specialized in
competition climbing
Competition climbing is a form of regulated rock climbing, rock-climbing competition held indoor climbing, indoors on purpose-built artificial climbing walls (earlier versions were held on external natural rock surfaces). The three competition ...
, and who is known for winning the
Lead Climbing World Championship in 1997 and the
Lead Climbing World Cup in 1995 and 1999.
Career
Born in
Albertville
Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France.
It is best k ...
, near the
Vanoise National Park
Vanoise National Park () is a French national park between the Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys in the French Alps, containing the Vanoise massif. It was created in 1963 as the first national park in France.
Vanoise National Park is in the '' ...
, Petit started climbing when he was a child, encouraged by his passionate parents. He shared his passion with his older brother and also the 1996 Lead Climbing World Cup winner, .
He sport climbed on routes up to , but primarily focused on
indoor climbing
A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with manufactured grips (or "holds") for the hands and feet. Most walls are located indoors, and climbing on such walls is often termed indoor climbing. Some walls are brick or wooden constr ...
. He retired from international competitions in 2004. Since 2010 he has been the trainer of the French
bouldering
Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that is performed on small rock formations or Climbing wall, artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or Climbing harness, harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers ...
team. He is also the director of Le Mur de Lyon,
Le Mur de Lyon
/ref> one of the largest indoor climbing
A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with manufactured grips (or "holds") for the hands and feet. Most walls are located indoors, and climbing on such walls is often termed indoor climbing. Some walls are brick or wooden constr ...
gyms in France, located in Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
.
Rankings
Climbing World Cup
Climbing World Championships
Number of medals in the Climbing World Cup
Lead
Rock climbing
Single-pitch routes
8c+/5.14c:
:* ''Superplafond'' - Volx
Volx (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
Population
See also
* Coteaux de Pierrevert AOC
* Luberon
The Luberon ( or ; Provençal dialect, Provenç ...
(FRA) - 1995 - bolted by Jean-Baptiste Tribout in 1994
:* ''Le Bronx'' - Orgon
Orgon (; ancient: ''Urgonum'', or ''Castrum de Urgone'') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. It is located on the departmental border with Vaucluse, which follows the ...
(FRA) - 1994 - first ascent
Multi-pitch routes
* ''Bonington'' - Torres del Paine
The Cordillera Paine is a mountain group in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia. The cordillera is located north of Punta Arenas, and about south of the Chilean capital Santiago. It belongs to the Commune of Torres del Paine ...
( PAT - January 2007
* ''Eternal Flame'' - Trango Towers
__NOTOC__
The Trango Towers () are a family of rock towers situated in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, in the northern part of Pakistan. The Towers have some of the world's largest cliffs and offer some of the most challenging big wall climbing op ...
( PAK) - July 20–22, 2005
See also
*List of grade milestones in rock climbing
In rock-climbing, a first free ascent (FFA) is the first redpoint (climbing), redpoint, onsight or flash (climbing), flash of a pitch (ascent/descent), single-pitch, multi-pitch climbing, multi-pitch or bouldering, bouldering climbing route that ...
*History of rock climbing
In the history of rock climbing, the three main sub-disciplines – bouldering, Pitch (climbing), single-pitch climbing, and big wall climbing, big wall (and multi-pitch climbing, multi-pitch) climbing – can trace their origins to late 19th-ce ...
* Rankings of most career IFSC gold medals
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petit, Francois
French rock climbers
1975 births
Living people
IFSC Climbing World Championships medalists
IFSC Climbing World Cup overall medalists
French competition climbers