OLYMPIC hopeful Hamish McArthur was one of Team GB’s standout performers at the World Youth Climbing Championships in Austria.

The Year 11 Joseph Rowntree School pupil finished sixth after reaching the high wall final in Innsbruck.

Having cruised through the qualifying rounds in the lead climbing event, where participants get points for every hold to reward those reaching the highest marks, McArthur also negotiated the semis to become one of the few British challengers to make a final.

The dramatic floodlit final then produced an American victory in what was described as the largest and highest-quality field of Youth B climbers ever assembled for a World Championship.

Earlier, McArthur had also made the semi-finals in the bouldering competition, where he claimed a credible 14th-placed finish.

A string of top-five performances in European Cup competitions this season had earned the York hopeful, who is sponsored by the Red Goat Climbing Centre in Layerthorpe and Tracsis PLC in Leeds, a call-up to Team GB.

Over 1,100 athletes from 52 countries competed over ten days for medals in the lead, speed and bouldering categories, with all three disciplines having been selected as a combined event for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

McArthur is more likely to target the 2024 Games, which are tipped to return to Paris, but many of the junior climbers in Innsbruck are hoping to perform in Japan, where the dynamic and spectacular sport will be showcased, as the epitome of the Olympic motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger.”

Japan and America sent very strong teams to Austria and dominated the medal tables and, with Italian, French and Austrian climbers also always among the world’s strongest, the competition was stiff for McArthur and Team GB.