Sport Climbing at the Olympics Paris 2024 & the Road to LA28
Olympic Sport Climbing
Sport climbing was included in the Olympic schedule for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Games, held as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sport made a huge progress now being included in the Olympic Games. At the beginning, the Olympic event brought together speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing into the same format in Sport Climbing at the Olympics
Speed climbing’s format did not please everyone, as it calls for skill sets unique from the other two types of climbing. The organizers wanted to present the sport’s wide range of skills and spots by including them. The initial event contributed greatly to the growth of interest in the sport. It was clear from climbing gyms that more people were interested and attended during the Olympic period.
Thanks to this exposure, more and more people wanted to play the sport. Thanks to the success of the previous Olympics, Paris 2024 added separate races for speed climbing and an event that combined bouldering and lead, answering the athletes’ requests for dedicated competitions and ways to specialize. It reflects both the rising respect for the sport and it adapting to fit within the Olympic program.
Sport climbing is on its way to being a permanent Olympic sport for the 2028 Games, highlighting both its strong position and the IOC’s desire to keep it in the Games. Olympic sport climbing involves three areas of competition that each work a different area of a person’s climbing skill. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, these sports were turned into two events: Speed Climbing and a mixed Boulder & Lead contest.NBC Olympics
Speed Climbing
In Speed Climbing, two athletes race up a 15-meter wall to become the fastest climber. Every competitor competes twice, on each lane and his or her fastest time is used to decide the order in the next round. The game then moves on to quarterfinals, semifinals and finals so medals can be given out
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Bouldering
Bouldering requires climbers to find solutions to quick, complex climbs on a 4.5-meter wall not using ropes. Every athlete gets five minutes to solve four problems, trying to finish them as high up as they can in as few tries as possible. Points are earned for the highest zone held, with 5 for the first zone, 10 for the second and 25 for a top finish.
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Lead Climbing
During Lead Climbing, athletes try to push as high as they can on a 15-meter wall in six minutes. For the last 40 moves, points are awarded with more points for those closer to the top: the final 10 moves receive 4 points each, the previous 10 get 3 points each and so forth
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Combined Boulder & Lead Format
Bouldering and Lead Climbing were joined into a single event for Paris 2024 and an athlete’s final score was the sum of their scores in both disciplines, not exceeding 200 points. Thanks to this format, climbers get to demonstrate how quickly they solve problems and how long they can climb on routes.
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Olympic Sport Climbing Competition Format, Scoring, and Qualification
Two different types of sport climbing medals were given out at the Paris 2024 Olympics: Speed Climbing and the Combined Boulder & Lead event. Speed Climbing occurred on a single vertical wall and the Combined event included rock climbing at bouldering and lead levels.
Competition Format
- Speed Climbing: Athletes competed directly with one another on a wall set at 15 meters. The fastest climber in each heat moved on in the elimination process until the finals.
- Combined Boulder & Lead: Both bouldering and lead climbing were part of this event. During a bouldering competition, climbers tried four routes in just five minutes and were scored based on the highest rock feature they reached. In lead climbing, athletes had six minutes to go as far as they could up a 15-meter wall, with points given for their final 40 movements.
Scoring Systems
- Speed Climbing: In each event, the person who finished fastest was declared the winner. Finish times were captured to determine how everyone was placed.
- Bouldering: Five points were given for a first zone hold, ten points for a second zone hold and 25 points for a successful top. Whenever I failed an attempt, it cost me 0.1 points.
- Lead Climbing: The final 40 moves mattered, with the last 10 covered by 4 points, the previous 10 by 3 points, down to 1 point for only 1 move.
Qualification Criteria
World Championships: The top three athletes in each event secured quota places provided their summation was not more than two persons from any National Olympic Committee (NOC).
Continental Qualification Events: The quota place has been allocated to the highest-ranked eligible male and female climber in each of the five continental qualifying tournaments, subject to the two-athlete limit for each NOC.
Olympic Qualifier Series: The top 10 male and female climbers in a two-event series in 2024 were awarded a quota place with respect for the two-athlete limit per NOC.
Host Country: France reserves one spot per gender, which is reallocated if a French athlete qualified through other means.
Universality Places: There were two invitational spots to be taken by eligible National Olympic Committees.
These formats and criteria provided for fairness and competitiveness, factoring in versatility and skills in their respective climbing disciplines.
Conclusion
Sport climbing’s Olympic journey has witnessed this dynamic sport evolve from the combined format of Tokyo 2020 to separate events for Paris 2024. By separating speed climbing from the combined bouldering and lead disciplines to allow for specialization, this change has contributed to an increased sense of competitiveness and fairness.
The two new scoring systems also complicated the system and introduced various dimensions of strategy in the sport: a new format that allows climbers to earn from 0 to 200 points based on combining their respective performances in both bouldering and lead.
Qualification for the Games was strenuous, with athletes earning spots through the Olympic Qualifier Series, World Championships, and continental events, providing diversity and competition within the discipline. As we can clearly see, with such possibilities for further development, the status of sport climbing on the Olympic stage will further increase in Los Angeles 2028.
