A teenage Olympic climbing hopeful has died after a fall from a cliff in the French Alps. The 16-year-old French teenager, Luce Douady, was killed on Sunday when she fell on a footpath in a climbing area, the French Mountain Climbing Federation (FFME) has said.
It's thought that Luce and a group of friends were crossing a path between two different climbing areas, which had a handrail, when the teenager fell 150 metres and tragically died.
Luce was a rising star in the world of climbing, currently holding the world junior champion title for bouldering, and was hoping to compete at the Tokyo Olympics next year when bouldering becomes introduced.
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The French Mountain Climbing Federation has paid tribute to Luce on its website, writing, 'It is with immense sadness that the climbing community learned this Sunday of the death of one of their own.'
Describing the young prodigy, they said, 'Luce was a young athlete from the French climbing team, very promising. At only 16, the future was before her.'
They added, 'This terrible news hit her training comrades, her coaches and her club, Chambéry Escalade hard. But today, the whole federation is in mourning.'
The FFME called Luce 'brilliant in competition,' and listed her achievements, including winning the World Youth Bouldering Championship in 2019, coming third in the European Difficulty Championship and fifth in Bouldering World Cup all in the same year.
Luce's climbing club, Chambéry Escalade, also paid tribute on Facebook, calling Luce a 'young woman full of energy, passion and talent,' and 'a beautiful person.' Meanwhile, The International Federation of Sport Climbing described Luce as 'a young, brilliant and talented athlete.'
Our thoughts go out to Luce's loved ones at this difficult time.
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