Senior · Development
Biography
Zach Richardson is a Canadian sport climber known for his technical approach to competing and training. One of the longest-standing members of Team Canada, Zach won his first Youth National Title in 2013 and has remained a top competitor ever since, earning multiple National titles and international podiums, including the Pan American Champion title in 2018, and National Champion titles in 2019 and 2023. Zach is married to Madison Richardson, and they moved to Montreal in early 2024 to pursue climbing in Canada’s hub of competitive bouldering. Zach and Madison also have a YouTube channel together, Richardsons Climbing, where they share and educate their audience on climbing technique and training.
Achievements
- 8 Canadian National Champion titles (2013-2023)
- Senior Boulder National Champion (2023)
- Senior Boulder National Champion (2019)
- 1st place Pan American Championships Guayaquil, Ecuador (2018)
- 1st Place – North American Cup Series, Alexandria, USA (2022)
- 1st Place – North American Cup Series, Kanata, Canada (2024)
- 2nd Place – North American Cup Series, Vail, USA (2024)
In their words
How did you get into climbing?
Raised across several U.S. states in a military family, Zach's family settled in Burlington, Ontario, in 2008, and it was then that his parents opened Climbers Rock. It was at this gym that he first discovered climbing at age 7 and developed the foundation for his lifelong career in the sport.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training?
I spend my rest days coaching my wife, Madison Richardson, at the gym and helping to fine-tune and write her program at home. In the evenings, I edit and record content for our YouTube channel, where I break down my training sessions and share the tips and tricks I learned from the day in my videos.
What drives you to compete and excel in climbing?
What drives me to excel in climbing is the process of refining my technique and problem-solving. I enjoy breaking movement down, experimenting, and slowly piecing things together until something works better than before. Competing gives me an opportunity to test that work under pressure and keep pushing the level of my climbing.
More athletes
Meet the full team 
Senior · Performance
Hugo Dorval
Senior · Elite
Madison Richardson
Senior · Development / Youth · U19