Paris Olympics 2024: Sport climbing - history, rules, defending champions

Sport climbing is one of those modern sports that made its Olympic debut only very recently. Modern climbing as a sport has gone onto become one of the most popular sport in the last 20 years across the world.

The only time sport climbing has made an appearance at the Olympics was three years ago during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics .

The history of sport climbing dates back to the 1970s and 1980s. Around that time, French rock climbers like Patrick Edlinger were eager to climb walls like the one in Buoux and Verdon, where the walls were made of granite. The idea was to pre-drill the bolts into routes for protection of the athlete, since the routes had no cracks or fissures. This differs from traditional climbing, where the climber has to insert a temporary equipment for protection while ascending.

The first known competitions of climbing were held during the 1980s, with the first World Championship of climbing being held in 1991.

The International Federation of Sport Climbing is the official global governing body for sport climbing. It was founded on 27 January 2007 in Frankfurt, by 48 member federations.

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What are the rules?

There are three formats of sport climbing —boulder, speed and lead climbing. In boulder climbing, athletes need to climb 4.5 walls without the usage of ropes, within limited duration and the fewest number of attempts.

In speed climbing, as the name suggests, the focus is on precision. It consists of one-on-one elimination rounds, and there’s a target set for the best athletes. That’s to climb a total of 15m wall in less than six seconds for men, and the same distance in less than seven seconds for women.

Whereas in the lead event, the aim of the athletes is to climb to the top of the wall, which is over 15m and the stipulated time for this is six minutes. This is an even more grueling event with more challenging routes, which tests the mental and physical ability of a climber.

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What is sport climbing’s history at the Olympics?

The only time sport climbing has been featured as an Olympic sport was during the postponed Tokyo Olympics 2020 that was held three years ago. This will just be the second time that climbing will be featured at the Olympics.

Sport climbing, however, did feature in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It wasn’t a highly publicized event, however, at the 2018 Youth Games, but the public were impressed with the intensity and the excitement factor of the sport. That was eventually what paved the way for climbing’s inclusion at the Tokyo Olympics as it officially joined the Olympic programme as a brand new sport.

Who are the reigning champions?

There were two events of sport climbing that were held at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. One for the men and another for the women.

Spain’s Alberto Gines Lopez, who has been making waves in climbing since he was a teenager, won gold in the men’s combined event. Nathaniel Coleman of the USA clinched silver whereas Austria’s Jakub Schubert won bronze.

In the women’s combined event, Slovakia’s Janja Garnbret won gold whereas Japanese duo of Miho Nonaka and Akiyo Noguchi won silver and bronze respectively.

Which athletes have qualified?

Women’s Boulder and Lead: Brooke Raboutu (USA), Seo Chaehyun (KOR), Erin Mcneice (GBR), Nonaka Miho (JPN), Ievgeniia Kazbekova (UKR), Luo Zhilu (CHN), Mia Krampl (SLO), Laura Rogora (ITA), Lucia Dorffel (GER), Zelia Avezou (FRA), Camilla Moroni (ITA), Molly Thompson-Smith (GBR)

Men’s Boulder and Lead: Alberto Gines Lopez (ESP), Lee Dohyun (KOR), Hannes Van Dusyen (BEL), Adam Ondra (CZE), Hamish Mcarthur (GBR), Sascha Lehmann (SUI), Luka Potocar (SLO), Pan Yufei (CHN), Yannick Flohe (GER), Alexander Megos (GER), Paul Jenft (FRA), Sam Avezou (FRA)

Women’s Speed: Aleksandra Kalucka (POL), Zhou Yafei (CHN), Rajiah Sallsabillah (INA), Capucine Viglione (FRA), Manon Lebon (FRA), Leslie Adriana Romero Perez (ESP), Beatrice Colli (ITA)

Men’s Speed: Wu Peng (CHN) , Amir Maimuratov (KAZ), Veddriq Leonardo (INA), Zachary Hammer (USA), Reza Alipour Shenazandif (IRI), Yaroslav Tkach (UKR), Shin Euncheol (KOR).

Who are the athletes to watch in sport climbing at Paris Olympics?

Alberto Gines Lopez: The 21 year-old from Spain was only a teenager when he clinched gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the youngster will once again be one of the most exciting prospects in Paris. Lopez was born in Cacarez, Spain and began climbing with his parents at a very young age, before hiring a coach as he took the sport seriously. He was just 13 years old in 2016 when he got to know that climbing would debut at the Olympics, which is when he moved to Barcelona in order to train.

Miho Nonaka: The Japanese climber won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and three years down the line, she will be gunning for gold. Climbing runs in the Japanese athlete’s family. Nonaka had learned to climb at the age of nine, whereas her father became a big fan of mountain climbing. Her sister, though, practices climbing at the gym.

Alexander Megos: Strength and precision is what Alexander Megos of Germany a formidable athlete. Megos is a strong medal contender at the Paris Olympics, thanks to his creative climbing techniques and resilience. He had finished in the top 10 at 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
When will sport climbing take place at Paris Olympics?

While the Paris Olympics get underway on 26 July, sport climbing will take place between 5 August and 10 August. It will be held at the Le Bourget Climbing venue, which has been exclusively built for sport climbing competitions.

There will be four medal events in sport climbing. These are, the men’s and women’s speed climbing and the men’s and women’s boulder and lead.

The women’s speed final will be held on 7 August whereas the men’s will have their final on 8 August. As for boulder and lead competition, the men’s event will take place on 9 August, whereas the women’s event will be held on 10 August.