A Rope-Climbing Record
Anouk Garnier of France set a world record when she climbed a rope to the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
© Stephane de Sakutin—AFP/Getty Images
Anouk Garnier reached the second level of the Eiffel Tower and set a record.
If you’re going to try to break the world rope climbing record, why not do it in the middle of a busy city? Anouk Garnier of France climbed a rope 361 feet (110 meters) to the second level of Paris’s Eiffel Tower in a quest to make the record books—and to raise money for cancer research.
“My dream has come true. It’s magical,” Garnier told reporters after the climb. “If there was one thing I never doubted, it was that I was going to do it.”
Garnier, a two-time world obstacle course champion, started rope climbing in 2022 because she wanted to try something new. When she learned that Ida Mathilde Steensgaard of Denmark set the women’s rope climbing record by climbing 85 feet (26 meters) at the Copenhagen Opera House, she thought she might be able to reach even greater heights.
“I said to myself, 26 meters isn’t that far. What monument could I climb?” Garnier told Agence France-Presse. She set her sights on the Eiffel Tower, training for a year before the big event.
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Anouk Garnier climbed higher than the Statue of Liberty or Big Ben!
During her training period, Garnier began collecting donations online to support a charity called the League Against Cancer, which supports and provides treatment to people who are fighting cancer. Garnier’s mother has been diagnosed with the disease.
Garnier’s Eiffel Tower climb broke not only Steensgaard’s record but also the world record, previously held by South Africa’s Thomas Van Tonder, who climbed 295 feet (90 meters) in 2020.
“I made history, and this is crazy!” Garnier told France 24 News.
In May, Garnier will carry the Olympic torch in Marseille, France, as it makes its way to Paris, the host city of the Summer 2024 Olympic Games. She intends to continue competing in obstacle courses…but she’s also looking around for another challenge.
