Kaleb Westlake competing in Australia
After moving up in the New Zealand paraclimbing scene, Cambridge athlete Kaleb Westlake recently made his mark internationally, winning gold in Australia.
Kaleb Westlake loves climbing.
Kaleb has cerebral palsy which affects flexibility, power and stability in his legs, but not his arms or upper body.
The 16-year-old took up climbing 2-3 years ago.
“I did it at birthday parties and stuff and really enjoyed it, and ended up signing up for some classes at the Extreme Edge in Hamilton,” he said.
Kaleb has been the New Zealand men’s paraclimbing champion for the past two years – but competition has been thin.
“At the nationals I was the only competitor, so it was hard to lose,” he said.
That inspired him to head across the ditch for the 2025 Australian National Lead Championships in Melbourne.
Kaleb Westlake
The event was held at the Urban Climb Blackburn indoor climbing gym, where he took on three other competitors in the RP2 class.
RP stands for ‘reduced power’ and the number relates to the level of impairment experienced by athletes, ranging from one at the lower end to three at the higher end.
Kaleb won gold in the RP2 class, and said the result gave him a confidence boost. His next goal is to compete at a World Cup – if he can afford it.
“I’ve got to fly up there and it’s all personally funded, so it’s quite hard to go and compete.”
Kaleb moved from Hamilton to Cambridge around 2015 with his parents, Paul and Rahel, and his siblings Ellis, Anna and Micah.
He attended Goodwood School and Cambridge Middle and was home-schooled after that.
This year he has been living in Auckland, completing an Auto Super Shoppes pre-trade mechanics course.
For the time being, he’s back in Cambridge for the summer, training about four days a week and enjoying his other hobby, playing the guitar.
He is considering taking on a full mechanics’ apprenticeship next year and aims to keep progressing on his current climbing trajectory.
“It’s good exercise and it’s a sport I just really enjoy,” he said.
Kaleb Westlake
