Gqeberha speed climber and coach Jay-D Muller has set his sights beyond his own ambitions, with a desire to help take South African climbing to the next level while continuing to chase his own Olympic dream.
Muller, who coached at the Paris Olympics and has worked closely with fellow Gqeberha climber Aniya Holder, believes SA has the potential to produce athletes capable of competing consistently at the highest level.
“I really want to just push South African speed climbing to the next level,” Muller said.
“I’ve seen what other countries have done at the youth world championships with their athletes.
“So I want to get athletes up to the youth world championships and have them go to finals, possibly win medals, and then just keep qualifying athletes.”
That ambition will be put into practice when Muller and Holder compete in two World Climbing Series events, with Guiyang hosting the first competition from September 11 to 13 before the action moves to Chongqing from September 18 to 20.
Holder will compete individually, while Muller will join her in the mixed relay at both events.
He did not meet the required hurdle times for individual selection, but has been given the green light to compete in the relay and use the experience to work towards those individual qualifying standards.
“I hope to reach those hurdle times and basically qualify myself for competitions next year,” he said.
Asked what it is about speed climbing that got him hooked, he initially competed across all three disciplines, largely because of the Olympic format, before specialising in speed climbing when it became a standalone Olympic event.
His own ambitions remain firmly in place, with qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics the ultimate goal.
After finishing fourth at the 2023 African qualifier, Muller took several months away from climbing to consider whether he wanted to commit to another Olympic cycle.
“I’d love to compete at the Olympic Games. Qualifying for the Olympic Games would be the ultimate dream,” he said.
“But then also to have Aniya qualify for the Olympics would mean a lot for me as a coach.”
Muller’s path to becoming both an athlete and coach began almost by accident.
Growing up in the Free State, he first climbed rocks recreationally on his family farm before joining the climbing club at North-West University, where he studied business management.
He competed at his first nationals in 2015, admitting he “got absolutely smashed”, but continued developing as an athlete.
After completing his studies and a brief spell teaching English in Vietnam, Muller spotted a Facebook post about a climbing gym opening in Gqeberha.
He reached out to Valley Crag Climbing Centre founder Ian Clifford, offering his experience from running the university climbing club, and moved to Gqeberha in March 2018.
Now, with China ahead and Los Angeles still in his sights, Muller is trying to balance both sides of his career — proving himself as an athlete while helping create the next generation of South African climbers.
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