Hamish McArthur qualifies for rock climbing final in Paris

As first to climb in both events, Hamish set the tone for his fellow athletes to follow – scoring 34.2 points out of a possible 100 in the bouldering section on Monday, a performance which placed him in eighth out of 20 contestants.

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In the event called lead climbing held this morning, 22-year-old Hamish scored 45.1, placing him in eighth place out of 20 athletes once again.

Overall, he qualified for the final with a combined score of 79.3 out of 200 – securing the final position in the medal match this Friday, 10.5 ahead of his closest competitor.

Team GB’s other rock-climbing contender – Toby Roberts – also qualified for the final, powering forward and seizing first place with a combined total of 122.2 points (with a score of third, 54.1, in the bouldering, and joint second, 68.1, in the lead climbing event).

Hamish McArthur qualified for this Friday's Olympic final (Image: @leozhukovphoto)

Speaking to The Press last week, Hamish’s dad Angus said: “There’s 20 of the best climbers ever assembled and Hamish is one of them.

“He won’t half-heartedly going to Paris - he’s going wanting to win because he can’t do anything at 50 or 70 per cent but if it doesn’t quite go to plan then he’ll be okay.”

Speaking to PA, Hamish said: “I thought it was a really fun route. The climbing on it was very flowy and smooth if you did it right. It’s definitely a problem solver’s dream.”

The eight finalists start from scratch on Friday with semi-final scores disregarded.

The final is set to take place this Friday at Le Bourget Climbing Venue in Paris with the first event beginning at 9.15am (UK time) and the medal showing to follow later that morning.