Julian David
Olympic speed climber. U20 World Champion. NZ’s Spider-Man.
I race up a 15-metre wall in about five seconds. At 19 I became New Zealand’s first male Olympic speed climber, beat a former world record holder on the Olympic wall in Paris, and finished 8th in the world. Now I’m a three-time Oceania champion training full-time in Mount Maunganui for one goal: a medal at LA28.
Le Bourget, Paris 2024 — Olympic quarterfinalist at 19
The Next Chapter
Road to LA28.
Speed climbing gets its own medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, and the field has never been faster. I went 5.20 in Paris at 19. The world record is in the 4.6s. The next three seasons are about closing that gap one hundredth at a time: World Cups across Asia, Europe and the Americas, the World Championships, and defending my Oceania title at home in Mount Maunganui. I’m documenting all of it — the training, the travel, the losses and the records — in my Road to LA28 series on YouTube and Instagram.
What I Do
Climbing fast. Building things that last.
🧗 Speed Climbing
Olympic finalist, U20 World Champion, and Oceania record holder. I train daily on the world-class speed wall at Blake Park under coach Rob Moore.
🎥 The Jumping Onto Series
The series where I jump onto (and over) things I probably shouldn’t — picked up by World Climbing’s own channels and 90K+ followers. One clip alone has 1.8M views.
🎓 Beyond the Wall
Finance student at the University of Waikato, working with sponsors like Push Gummies, Dr Hydrate and Foundation Clinic, and learning to build a brand that outlasts a 5-second race.
Featured
Watch.
Business Insider · Second To None: How Speed Climbers Train For the Olympics
World Climbing · Ones to Watch: Julian David 🇳🇿
“5× national champ at 21” · 1.8M views
Proof
The world is paying attention.
“New Zealand’s first ever gold medal winner at the world championships.”
— Wikipedia, on his 2023 Youth Worlds win in Seoul
“Kiwi speed climber Julian David upsets former world champion to make Paris Olympics.”
— Stuff.co.nz headline, August 2024
“Julian David chases hardware, not milliseconds, in the world’s fastest vertical sport.”
— Olympics.com, World Championships Seoul
As seen on · Business Insider · Olympics.com · NZ Herald · RNZ · Stuff · SunLive · World Climbing (IFSC) · Sky Sport Halberg Awards · All press →
Let’s connect.
Brand partnerships, media, speaking, school visits, or a race up the wall — my manager Livia and I read everything.
Live example entity home built by BlitzMetrics · Read the full brand audit & build notes →