General

Heading to the Olympics with James McArthur and clan!

It’s a proud summer here at NG, and even more so for our Head of Property Management, James McArthur. James and 15 members of the McArthur clan have donned their tartan glamour and headed to Paris to support Hamish, James’ nephew, a Team GB and Olympic athlete, as he becomes the first male to compete for Britain in Sports Climbing!

Hamish will be climbing on Monday, the 5th of August, in the Men’s Bouldering, and then on the 7th of August in the Men’s Lead Climbing, with the hope of progressing to compete in the Men’s Bouldering and Lead Final on Friday, the 9th of August.

Speaking to James early in July, the excitement and immense fondness for his nephew simply radiated! “Hamish has been climbing since he was about 5 years old and ever since he could pull himself up onto any object! He climbed everything at home; it just seemed second nature to Hamish and led his parents to take him to a climbing wall in Leeds at a very young age, which is where it all started!”

Hamish, now 22, first represented his country as part of Great Britain’s junior climbing squad when he was just 11 years old. Following his first youth title, Hamish went on to join Team GB juniors, which provided him access to specialist training and propelled his climbing career into international competitions. Competing at the junior level, Hamish secured the double gold title at the Junior Boulder World Championships in 2019. In Moscow 2021, his debut as a Senior climber, he went on to take the bronze medal!

James continued in his elation for his nephew’s achievement: “I am so proud of him. I know just how hard he has worked, and being able to watch his journey has been so special. His grounded and positive outlook on competing has been truly inspirational for us all! Taking my young son, Jasper, to watch a member of our family compete is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and I know he is overflowing with excitement about it!”

Speaking to Sunsport, Hamish commented, “I got into climbing when I was really young. I just had an obsession with climbing up stuff, some kind of innate property. I was five, and you had to be six or seven to book on the course, but out of desperation, my parents wanted me to channel my energy into a safer environment where I wasn’t going to break any limbs from falling out of trees!”

Hamish spoke of the family support heading to Paris this August: “Just shy of 15 friends and family are coming out for it. Just to see them in that environment is going to be so funny. They’re all staying in one big house together, and wherever they go, I just feel like they’ll cause some mayhem, which is going to be good entertainment.”

Huge amounts of luck, Hamish. We’ll be with you all the way!