She is in the 6th year of Medicine, preparing the MIR and this year will participate for the first time in the Autonomous Championship of University Sport in the modality of sport climbing. Anabel García confesses that climbing helps to disconnect her mind.
Anabel García Navarro, of 23 years old, discovered climbing last year thanks to their classmates of Medicine that went to the climbing school of the Universitat de València. “I had never done sport in a professional way, I liked hiking and mountains, but when I discovered climbing I became addicted to it”, confesses the young Medicine student, who found in this discipline a “escape via”, because it requires a deep concentration and puts her mind off.
Anabel started in the practice of climbing under the orders of Mónica Sánchez, trainer of the Universitat de València. “Las year I went 2 days per week to train with the UV team, this year I go 4 days in midweek and, when I can, on weekends I also go to the mountain to practice climbing with rope”, explains the climber.
Her favourite climbing modality is ‘boulder’ blocks, which consists on climbing stone blocks or small-height walls, without needing protective materials such as rope, harness or moorings. “It is the one I like the most because it is the first I discovered, although now I am more into mountain climbing with rope”, explains Anabel.
“Climbing is a great challenge at a psychological level, it is not easy to cope with falls, you have to trust a lot in the person securing you, it is needed to know how to fall well, you need a good technique if you want to upgrade. In addition, it is a sport with a very important social component, you go climbing and there is not toxic competitiveness. On the contrary, your wins are the wins of the whole team”. Anabel adds that climbing is a great challenge at an intellectual level: “it is you and the wall, and while climbing, you have to solve challenges and problems that require planning. You have to think how to solve them, it is an exciting challenge”.
Team spirit, personal growth... climbing is a very complete sport in which strength, resistance, and agility among others competences are trained. Anabel combine trainings 4 days per week with Medicine internships and the MIR preparation. According to her, the key to achieving it is a good organization: “I am a very organised and disciplined person, and I do not stop doing things, I never had, I have a full agenda but if you organise yourself, you can have time for everything”, assures the girl of 23 years old, “in addition, the schedule of the climbing school of the UV is very accessible, it is from 15 to 17 h, it does not interrupt your afternoon, it is easy to adapt to it”, she says.
Only a year ago Anabel García was dealing with callus on her hands, an ache that all climbing beginners have to face, but now, with her hardened hands and her motivation through the roof, she is going to compete in the Autonomous Championship of University Sport. “It is my fist competition, I do not see it as a professional thing, I am going for trying it and enjoying it. My main objectives are having fun, improving myself and contributing to the UV team to have a great result” finishes the student.
