Climbing at the 2024 Paris Olympics: An Overview

Climbing at the 2024 Paris Olympics: An Overview

Climbing at the 2024 Paris Olympics: An Overview

Introduction to Olympic Climbing Sport climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021, after first appearing at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in 2018. Its inclusion, alongside skateboarding and surfing, aimed to modernize the Olympic program and attract a younger audience. Sport climbing will continue to feature in the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics.

Understanding Olympic Climbing Olympic sport climbing is divided into three disciplines: bouldering, lead, and speed.

• Bouldering: Athletes climb a 4.5-meter wall without ropes, aiming to reach the top in the fewest attempts within a limited time.
• Lead: Climbers have one attempt to ascend as high as possible on a 15-meter wall within six minutes.
• Speed: In one-on-one elimination rounds, climbers race up a 15-meter wall with a five-degree incline. Top athletes complete this in under six seconds for men and under seven seconds for women.

For the 2024 Paris Games, speed climbing is a separate event, while bouldering and lead remain combined. This allows athletes to specialize in their strongest disciplines. The scoring system has also changed since Tokyo. Bouldering and lead now have a maximum score of 200 points, with specific scoring zones and deductions for attempts in bouldering, and incremental points for holds in lead.

Competition Format

• Bouldering/Lead: Twenty men and twenty women will compete. Bouldering scores are based on zones and the top hold, while lead scores increase with each successful hold.
• Speed: Fourteen competitors in each gender category will run two speed trials on different walls. Rankings from these trials determine matchups for the elimination rounds.

Team USA Athletes to Watch

• Sam Watson: The 18-year-old world record holder in men’s speed (4.79 seconds), ranked eighth globally, and gold medalist at the Pan American Games.
• Natalia Grossman: Ranked No. 1 in women’s boulder and fifth in combined boulder & lead in 2023, Grossman also won gold in boulder & lead at the Pan American Games.
• Brooke Raboutou: Fifth-place finisher in Tokyo and daughter of former world cup champions Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou and Didier Raboutou, Brooke is fluent in French.

Top International Climbers

• Janja Garnbret (Slovenia): The reigning women’s gold medalist in lead/bouldering.
• Aleksandra Miroslav (Poland): A leading contender in women’s speed.
• Ai Mori (Japan): A strong competitor in women’s boulder/lead.
• Rahmad Adi Mulyon and Veddriq Leonardo (Indonesia): Top contenders in men’s speed.
• Jakob Schubert (Austria): A four-time world champion and a podium hopeful in men’s lead/bouldering.

These athletes promise to make the climbing events at the 2024 Paris Olympics an exciting competition to watch.

Latest new from Owl Fashion Shop