France's Gautron Rison L. and Japan's Ai Takeuchi will compete in the women's preliminary round. [+] Sport climbing speed at the Olympic Qualification Series Budapest in Budapest, Hungary, June 21, 2024. (Photo by Lian Yi/Xinhua, Getty Images)
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Sport climbing, which debuted as an Olympic sport at the Tokyo 2020 Games, will return to the program at the Paris 2024 Games, with the first competition scheduled for Monday 5 August.
A total of 68 climbers qualified to compete in Paris across two disciplines: speed climbing and total bouldering/lead. As with all sports at Paris 2024, there will be an even distribution of men and women throughout the event.
The Le Bourget climbing venue, which hosts the Olympic climbing competitions, is one of only two venues built specifically for the Olympics. Three outdoor walls will host climbing disciplines.
Here's everything you need to know about climbing at Paris 2024, including changes from Tokyo 2020 and climbers to watch.
Climbing events that will attract attention at the Paris Olympics
American Brooke Lovetu competes in the final boulder event of the women's sport climbing competition. [+] Lead competition for the 2024 Olympic Qualification Series to be held in Budapest, Hungary on June 23, 2024. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK/AFP) (Photo by: ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP, Getty Images)
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Athletes at the Paris 2024 Games will compete in two climbing disciplines: speed climbing and combined bouldering/lead. A total of 40 climbers will compete in bouldering and lead, and 28 in speed climbing.
Speed climbing is the discipline that is best represented to a general audience. In this competition, athletes compete to climb to the top of a 15-meter (49-foot) wall as quickly as possible. While seeding ranks athletes by their fastest times, the elimination rounds feature true head-to-head competition for the top spot.
Bouldering and lead climbing are two separate disciplines, but they were combined into one event for the 2024 Olympics.
Forbes How to watch climbing at the Paris 2024 Olympics By Michelle Bruton
In bouldering, athletes climb short routes and aim to reach the top of the boulder in the least number of attempts. Unlike speed climbing, where climbers memorize the route to the top, athletes cannot see the bouldering route before competing, so it tests not only their physical strength but also their problem-solving skills.
Bouldering doesn't involve ropes, but thickly padded mats surrounding the boulder walls, which are just under 15 feet high. There are four to five routes set up on the wall, called “problems.”
If the climber can grab the top hold of a particular route with both hands and maintain control, the problem is considered resolved. There are two zone holds along the way, and climbers can earn points for reaching them even if they can't get over the boulder.
In lead climbing, athletes must use a belay rope to climb a 50 meter wall as high as possible in 6 minutes. Athletes can study the wall collectively for 6 minutes before attempting the wall individually.
When was climbing first included in the Olympics?
Climbing debuted as a new sport at the Tokyo 2020 Games (postponed to summer 2021 due to COVID-19), along with skateboarding, surfing, and karate (and the new sports of BMX freestyle and 3×3 basketball).
What has changed since Tokyo 2020?
Gold medalist Janja Garnbret (C) of Slovenia celebrates on the podium with Japanese silver medalist. [+] Miho Nonaka (left) and bronze medalist Akiyo Noguchi (right) of Japan attend the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women's sport climbing medal ceremony held at Aomi Urban Sports Park in Tokyo on August 6, 2021. Photo credit: MOHD RASFAN/AFP) (Photo credit: MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)
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In climbing, which will be held for the first time at the Tokyo Olympics, all three events – speed, bouldering and lead – have been combined into one medal event.
However, there are very few climbers who excel at both speed and bouldering/leading. Ironically, not a single climber at the Paris Games qualified for both speed and bouldering/lead.
With bouldering and lead separated from speed climbing, there are now four chances for gold medals instead of two.
This also means the number of participating climbers has increased from 40 in Tokyo to 68 in Paris.
How climbing is scored at the Olympics
For speed climbing, results are determined based on time. There is a touchpad at the top of each climbing lane that climbers use to stop their watches.
In bouldering, scoring works like this:
25 points for each successful rock (100 points total) 10 points for reaching the high zone of rocks. 5 points for reaching the low zone – -0.1 point for each failed attempt to reach the zone or top
Lead climbing also allows athletes to earn a total of 100 points. The breakdown is as follows.
Holds 40 to 31 (highest): 4 points each Holds 30 to 21: 3 points each Holds 20 to 11: 2 points each Holds 10 to 1 (lowest): 1 point each For each unsuccessful move the athlete makes for the competition. 01 point next hold
The overall score for bouldering and lead climbing athletes is made up of the sum of the two parts' scores, up to a maximum of 200.
Top climbers competing in Paris 2024
Innsbruck, Austria – June 27: Slovenia's Janja Garnbret competes in the women's boulder final. [+] IFSC World Cup Innsbruck 2024 held in Innsbruck, Austria on June 27, 2024. (Photo by Marco Cost/Getty Images)
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Two Tokyo 2020 gold medalists, Spain's Alberto Ginés López and Slovenia's Janja Garnbret, will return to Paris.
Gambret is once again the favorite to reach the top of the podium. She tops the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) boulder and lead rankings.
Further returning previous medalists include Austria's Jakob Schubert (Tokyo 2020 bronze medal) and Japan's Miho Nonaka (Tokyo 2020 silver medal).
Poland's Aleksandra Kalukka leads the IFSC speed rankings.
New to this Olympic cycle, the Olympic Qualification Series (OQS) consists of two events that played a major role in determining which climbers qualify for the Paris 2024 Games. Brooke Rabautou of the United States won both events and is gunning for a podium spot after finishing fifth at the Olympics. Tokyo Games.
Sport climbing competitions begin on Monday, August 5th. The women's speed final will be held on August 7th and the men's speed final on August 8th. The men's and women's boulder and lead finals will be held on August 9th and August 10th, respectively.
A complete guide on how to watch climbing at the Olympics can be found here.
