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RECAP: CLIMBING AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

You missed climbing’s debut at the Olympics? No problem. Surprising performances, disappointments, injuries and the very first Olympic medals for climbing are on the menu. Here is a recap of the events that took place over four emotionally charged days.

The format announced some time ago has been debated at length in the climbing world. With the sport being awarded only one medal per gender, the IFSC decided to create the combined format, in which all athletes must participate in three disciplines : speed, bouldering and lead. If this format allows all specialties to be included, it also prevents the best of each disciplined from being medalists, relying instead on a point system which multiplies the three positions of each athlete for each discipline. The athlete with the lowest final score wins.

Qualifications – Men

Speed

Bassa Mawem delivers a spectacular performance in the first round with a time of 5.45 seconds which allows him to take first place. He is followed by Tomoa Narasaki with 5.94 seconds and Mickaël Mawem with 5.95 seconds. Canadian athlete Sean McColl also records a good time with 6.93 seconds, which allows him to beat his personal best.

Bouldering

Qualifiers continues with the bouldering event. With three out of four boulders completed, including two on the first try, Mickaël Mawem takes us by surprise and wins the event, which puts him in a good position to make finals. Tomoa Narasaki takes second place and Adam Ondra takes third for this event.

Lead

In the last event, athletes must try to get as far as possible on a route, despite the humidity and heat of Tokyo. Although no one manages to complete the route, Jakob Schubert and Colin Duffy both make it to the same point and it’s the best time that separates their positions. Jakob Schubert wins the event, Colin Duffy placing second and Alberto Gines Lopez, third.

One of the biggest disappointments in qualifiers was Bassa Mawem’s injury. Reaching out to a hold in the last event, he suffered a complete rupture of the lower tendon of his left biceps. His impressive performances still allowed him to make finals, alongside his brother Mickaël Mawem, but he unfortunately had to forfeit because of this incident.

Despite a good time in speed and an 8th place in lead, Canadian Sean McColl finished 17th overall after a difficult bouldering round. He sadly did not advance to the finals.

Eight people qualify for the finals after these three events :

1. Mickaël Mawem (FRA)
2. Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
3. Colin Duffy (USA)
4. Jakob Schubert (AUT)
5. Adam Ondra (CZE)
6. Alberto Gines Lopez (ESP)
7. Bassa Mawem (FRA)
8. Nathaniel Coleman (USA)

Finals – Men

Speed

The finals begin with the speed event which opposes climbers in pairs, according to their results in qualification. Bassa Mawem’s injury allows Adam Ondra to automatically win his first round and places him against Alberto Gines Lopez for the second round. Lopez wins the event, followed by Tomoa Narasaki and Mickaël Mawem. The latter two, having performed exceptionally well so far, seem on the right track to getting the gold, but nothing is guaranteed until the very end.

Bouldering

The final bouldering event leaves many puzzled. The first boulder, which begins with a precarious slab and ends with a more dynamic and risky movement, is completed by all climbers in one or two attempts, except for Alberto Gines Lopez, who still manages to get the zone. The second boulder, however, only sees one top. Nathaniel Coleman is the one who finds a way to make the first huge jump to start, in addition to the technical coordination move to finish the problem. This result implies that if the American completes the last problem or obtains the same score as the others on it, he automatically wins the event.

On the last boulder, the athletes are challenged with small elusive holds on a series of volumes placed in a circle. While no athlete manages to complete it, many people wonder about the sequence envisioned by the route setters. Ultimately, since the first and last problems don’t offer much separation, the final ranking is largely determined by the last move of the second boulder. Nathaniel Coleman wins the event, Mickaël Mawem placing second and Tomoa Narasaki placing third.

Lead

Finally, the podium is decided in the last event. The last route has a section with a couple of tiny crimps which causes many to fall. Adam Ondra, who specializes in bouldering and lead, takes the highest point so far with 42+, but falls on the last section of the route which requires a lot of tension as well as precision. Alberto Gines Lopez falls only a couple of holds lower, giving him a score of 38+. The last climber to conclude this final is Jakob Schubert. The stakes are high. If Schubert finishes the route, he’s on the podium, but if he falls before the point where Adam Ondra fell, it is the latter who will get a medal.

Jakob Schubert delivers a perfect performance and he is the only one to make it to the anchor. Still tied to his rope, he learns the great news, the certainty that he will win the first Olympic bronze in climbing and celebrates without restraints. With his major bouldering result, Nathaniel Coleman wins the silver medal and can hardly believe what is happening to him.

The first Olympic games winner in climbing is Alberto Gines Lopez, of Spain. After a knee injury just months before the event, the 18-year-old fulfills his dream and seems speechless about his accomplishment. On his Instagram page, he shares a photo of his medal with the caption “WE DIT IT”.

First Olympic podium for the men :

1. Alberto Gines Lopez (ESP)
2. Nathaniel Coleman (USA)
3. Jakob Schubert (AUT)

Qualifications – Women

Speed

Women’s qualifications start off big with the speed event. Canadian Alannah Yip breaks her personal best as well as the Canadian speed record with a time of 7.99 seconds. She celebrates with a huge smile, knowing that this performance puts her in a good position for the rest of qualifiers. Aleksandra Miroslaw delivers an excellent performance with a time of 6.97 seconds, one hundredth of a second longer than the previous world record set by Russian Luliia Kaplina. The latter, who specializes in speed, starts off her first round with 7.65 seconds, higher than usual and, despite a promising start on her second round, she slips right before the end, which leaves her with only her first score. She bursts into tears as soon as she lands in her harness, aware of the consequences of this lower than expected result.

Aleksandra Miroslaw wins the event, followed by Anouck Jaubert (7.12 seconds) and Yiling Song (7.46 seconds).

Bouldering

The bouldering event begins with a dynamic coordination move on a slab. Despite the balance required for it, it’s the most successful of the four problems. Janja Garnbret, one of the most dominant competitive climbers today, makes a perfect round, with four tops achieved on the first try. Young climber Brooke Raboutou follows closely behind with a second place, completing three boulders. Third place goes to Akiyo Noguchi, one of the most experience competition climber of the group.

Lead

Qualifiers end with a physical and engaging route. Korea’s Chaehyun Seo wins the event, followed by Jessica Pilz and Miho Nonaka. Lead specialist Laura Rogora finishes 10th for this event, visibly tense during her round. Affected by the pressure of such a big stage, she doesn’t manage to deliver a performance that lives up to her expectations and, after a poor result in speed, she does not qualify for finals.

 

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Canada’s Alannah Yip finishes with a score of 21+, indicating she used 21 holds and made the move to the 22nd without reaching it. Her result places her in 12th for the event and 14th over all. She unfortunately does not advance in finals, but seems satisfied with her first experience at the Olympics.

Eight people qualify for the finals :

1. Janja Garnbret (SLO)
2. Chaehyun Seo (KOR)
3. Miho Nonaka (JPN)
4. Akiyo Noguchi (JPN)
5. Brooke Raboutou (USA)
6. Jessica Pilz (AUT)
7. Aleksandra Miroslaw (POL)
8. Anouck Jaubert (FRA)

Finals – Women

Speed

Speed specialist Aleksandra Miroslaw dominate the first round of the finals and, in her last race against Anouck Jaubert, she breaks the world record with a time of 6.84 seconds on the 15-meter route. Miho Nonaka also makes an impressive time and finishes in 3rd. Anouk Jaubert, another speed specialist, takes 2nd place.

Bouldering

The bouldering event proves to be very difficult. The athletes only have three problems to show off their skills and the third, featuring dynamic and very physical moves, sees no tops. Even Janja Garnbret, after an uncomfortable fall, fails to finish it. However, Garnbret still shows her competitive edge as she is the only athlete to complete the first two problems and does it in very few tries.
Brooke Raboutu tries to follow and get ahead of her competition, but a foot slip just before matching her hands on the last hold of the first boulder prevents her from taking first place. Janja Garnbret wins the event, followed by Brooke Raboutou and Miho Nonaka, who gets two zones.

Lead

Finals end with lead, where all athletes give an impressive fight. Jessica Pilz, a favorite for this discipline, obtains a score of 34+, allowing her to take third place for the event. Brooke Raboutou begins her turn with a big smile, clearly recovered from the disappointments she faced in the very demanding bouldering round. Despite her remaining energy, she slips going into a two-finger pocket, which requires precision to be caught, and falls lower than expected. She immediately grabs her head in disbelief, knowing what this mistake will cost her.

Miho Nonaka misreads the route in the same spot and tries to use a high heel hook instead of keeping her feet low. The technique doesn’t work for her and she falls, scoring 21 holds and putting her in 5th place for the event.

The event is won by Janja Garnbret scoring 37+ and, as a result, she wins her first Olympic gold medal, something many people expected. She bursts into tears in the arms of her coach Roman Krajnik and later posts a photo of her medal on her Instagram page with the caption “Unfinished business…FINISHED”. The two Japanese, Miho Nonaka and Akiyo Noguchi, win silver and bronze respectively.

First Olympic podium for women :

1. Janja Garnbret (SLO)
2. Miho Nonaka (JPN)
3. Akiyo Noguchi (JPN)