For the second time, climbing will be present at the Olympic Games this summer in Paris. After a successful introduction in Tokyo, the rules have been modified somewhat.
Sport climbing will be present at Paris Olympics for the second time after its introduction in 2021 during the Tokyo Games. It was also one of the attractions of the last Olympiad, a real television success and one of the public’s discoveries.
Sport climbing is divided into three events: speed, difficulty and bouldering. Speed consists of a one-on-one race on a fifteen-meter wall, inclined at 5 degrees. On average, men climb this wall in less than six seconds, and women in less than seven seconds. On the contrary, the difficulty event requires time and the ability to discover. The competitors do not know the route before the start of the event, and have six minutes to validate as many holds as possible during the six minutes of the event. In the event of a tie, the one who took the least time to reach the hold wins. Finally, bouldering is the only event carried out without a belay rope. The goal is to complete a route on a wall that rises up to 4.5 meters with the fewest attempts possible.
In Tokyo, only one medal was awarded, at the end of a competition that combined all three events. In the men’s event, it was Spaniard Alberto Ginés Lopez who won the gold medal, while Slovakia’s Janja Garnbret was crowned in the women’s event. For the Paris Olympics this summer, the rules have changed, with climbing being divided into two events, awarding two Olympic titles.
The first discipline will combine difficulty and bouldering, with a maximum of 200 points to reach (100 for bouldering and 100 for difficulty). In bouldering, each competitor has four passages worth a maximum of 25 points. The course is in fact made up of three checkpoints to validate points (5 for the first, 10 for the second and 25 for the third). Each failed attempt makes the climber lose 0.1 point. For difficulty, reaching the top of the route earns 100 points, and progressing through the course earns more and more points. Competitors have six minutes to climb the 15-meter wall, and the fall is final.
The second discipline in Paris will be the speed event. Identical to the one in Tokyo three years ago, it consists of climbing a 15-meter wall as quickly as possible. It takes the form of one-on-one duels.
For both events, the French men and women have good chances of medals. In the women’s event, Oriane Bertone is the favorite for the combined title. She brilliantly won the qualifying tournament in Laval last year, achieving a perfect score in the boulder. In the men’s event, Bassa Mawem is also qualified, in speed. His brother Micka Mawem is not yet qualified but should be in a good position to participate and win a medal. He is indeed the reigning world champion in bouldering.