364 Days Until China
Eight months of preparation, a gruelling trip to China, and one of the hardest World Cup rounds I’ve ever experienced led to a 13th-place finish that left me proud, hungry, and already thinking about next event.
This past weekend I competed at the first World Climbing Series Event of 2026 in Keqiao, China.
It’s crazy to finally get to the event that has been on my mind for the past eight months. Every time I dragged myself to the gym after dinnertime, got up early to fit in multiple sessions, every bad day, every good day, every painful day - this event was on my mind.
Although there are six World Cups in a season, I'm particularly drawn World Cups in China. The idea of flying halfway across the world, alone, with nothing to do but perform is the ultimate World Cup experience. The diet is a huge departure from my North American norm, the time zone is a complete 12-hour shift, and I happen to love the challenge that brings on.
This trip to China was long. I can’t sleep on flights, so being awake for a 15-hour flight is a unique kind of unpleasantness, but I’m happy to do it. This year more than most. Because on the other side of that flight is the start of the season.
I was less stressed than usual in the weeks leading up to China. Typically, I fixate over every little detail in my training, but this year I was oddly calm. I think my preparation this year was particularly good. I was confident and comforted by the work I put in, and that just made me all the more eager to get to China.
The travel to China was grueling, but I recovered well enough to feel restored and prime on the day of qualifiers.
I think everyone was surprised - and honestly a little in awe - of how difficult the women’s boulders were all the way through the competition.
One top got you into semifinals, and one top got you into finals. That's not normal.
I ended up with one top and four zones, which placed me in 15th going into semifinals. Nobody got all five tops, and second place had just two tops. Crazy hard!
Madison competes in qualifiers at the World Climbing Series Keqiao 2026 Photo by Yinteng Media/CMA
But of course, I didn’t know that. It’s difficult to know for sure what other athletes' scores are while you’re competing, and in China I was purposefully trying to keep myself in the dark in order to focus on the climbing, and only the climbing.
It ended up being a double-edged sword for me. On the one hand, I was able to focus entirely on execution and not have much else on my mind, but on the other hand, I didn’t know if I was doing well or not.
I remember falling off the finish hold on the fourth boulder, and the thought immediately popped into my head that I could have just lost semis there. With only one top under my belt at that point, I was a little nervous about my chances.
Unbeknownst to me, many people were dropping the finish hold on that boulder, and most athletes had a similar feeling at the end of the round: that was hard.
Regardless, with such a low-top round, one top and some zones put you safely into semifinals, so I was surprised, relieved, and excited.
I think my favourite moment in a World Cup is the feeling after finishing qualifiers and knowing you have semis the next day. There’s a lightness to my walk, almost a swagger. My perspective immediately shifts from stressing about advancing to the next round to: “I can do no wrong now.”
This isn’t to say that I take my foot off the gas pedal in semifinals. It’s just to say that the hard round is over, and now the hard round begins. It’s time to fight, to show what I’m made of, and roll the dice on making finals.
So that evening after qualifiers is an exciting time. It’s fun to take relaxation so seriously, like it’s my highest priority for the rest of the day. My remaining tasks: lay in bed, eat a big dinner, go to sleep, and put the jersey on again in the morning. I love it.
The next morning, I woke up feeling good. Making finals is always somewhere in the background for me, but it wasn’t at the front of my mind. The only things worth focusing on are the things I can control: trying hard, executing my tactics, and staying present in the moment. I think I achieved that.
Semis was another hard round. One top and three zones was enough for finals. I got the 'three zones' part, but I was missing the top. I ended up in 13th place, which I’m certainly happy about, especially considering the process goals I achieved along the way.
13th is a good result, but I'm not stopping there.
It’s time to pocket the result and use it as a bounce pad for the rest of the season. Another long trip back to Canada leaves me with about 11 days at home before it’s off to Europe for the remainder of the season.
Until next year, China.
Next on the schedule...
📍 MAY 22–24: Bern (SUI)
📍 MAY 28–31: Madrid (ESP)
📍 JUNE 3–6: Prague (CZE)
📍 JUNE 17-19: Innsbruck (AUT)
Watch the video recap here: