More than 3 billion people tune into the Olympics each year, here is everything you need to know about climbing.

With only a little over two months left until the 2024 Olympics in Paris begin, preparations and qualifying are in full swing. Between July 26th and August 11th over 10,000 athletes will compete in 32 different sports to win a medal and a place in the eternal hall of fame. 

While almost everyone is familiar with sports like swimming and gymnastics, less is known about the sports that just recently joined the Olympics, including climbing. 

Background

The origins of rock climbing can be traced back to the late 19th century. However, there are countless disciplines of climbing including trad climbing, bouldering, free soloing and even ice climbing, all of which developed at different times. Since its origins, climbing has become both an indoor and outdoor sport, while outdoor climbing is still popular, the three main disciplines of climbing athletes compete in – bouldering, lead climbing and speed climbing – have all moved inside onto artificial walls and holds. Climbing walls are mostly made of steel and covered with wood, this wood is covered in a “sandpaper” texture, making it less slippery. Climbing holds come in all shapes and sizes, usually made of plastic or wood with a similar texture. Climbers use different equipment depending on the type of climbing, nonetheless all climbers wear leather shoes with a rubber coating which allows for more grip. Additionally, all climbers also use chalk, similarly to gymnasts, to absorb moisture and provide more grip. In lead and speed climbing, climbers are belayed which requires them to wear a harness. 

Olympics

Climbing was introduced into the Olympics in 2020 and consists of three disciplines: lead, bouldering and speed climbing. For the 2024 Olympics in Paris, there will be a combined format of lead and bouldering where forty of the best men and women compete. Speed climbing will be held separately with twenty-eight possible slots. Now let’s break down the different disciplines:

Speed climbing is the crowd favorite due to its fast-paced nature. Athletes race side by side on identical 15-meter tall routes, the goal being to beat the other person to the top. Unlike lead climbing and bouldering the route is normed, meaning that all the holds are in the same position and the walls are the same all around the world. There are two sensor pads, one located on the ground and the other at the top of the route, which are connected to the stop clock. Climbers must place one foot on the pad when starting, after the start signal has been given it’s a race to the top. If climbers false start, it results in immediate disqualification. To stop the clock, climbers must hit the pad at the top of the route. To ensure everyone’s safety, competitors are secured by an auto belay (a machine secured at the top of the wall). Competitions usually start with two practice runs in both lanes, as the feel of holds and walls can differ. Next comes the qualification round where each competitor has two tries to run their fastest possible time, with the best time being counted for rankings. The top 16 athletes progress to the final round, where they must compete against each other in a knockout format. The current world record for Men is 4.79 seconds held by the American Samuel Watson and the women’s world record of 6.24 seconds is held by Aleksandra Miroslaw from Poland.

Bouldering is another discipline of climbing, here the main objective is to solve and climb as many routes as possible in a given amount of time. The wall is usually 3-5 meters high, climbers climb without belayers, however, there are mats at the bottom of the wall which prevent injury. Before the competition, climbers have not seen nor climbed the boulders and while other competitors climb, others must remain in isolation where they have no contact with outside help. In bouldering competitions, climbers have 4 minutes to climb a boulder in unlimited attempts, this is followed by a 4-minute rest time and then repeated for the remaining 3 boulders. Each boulder has a start, zone and top. The start is marked with 4 pieces of tape which indicate where hands and feet must be placed. Towards the middle of the boulder, there is a zone which is the first opportunity to score points, climbers must utilize this hold when moving to be granted the points. The last hold of the boulder is the top, marked with yet another piece of tape. The top must be touched or held with both hands in a stable position for at least 3 seconds. 

The final discipline which will be hosted at the 2024 Olympics is lead climbing. In this discipline, climbers attempt to climb a wall of 15-20 meters in a time of six minutes. To remain safe they must attach a rope to their harness which they clip into quick draws. The objective is to climb as high as you can in one try. The holds are numbered by the routesetters allowing for easy scoring; if a competitor falls while they are making a move to the next hold, a + is awarded. Once the attempt is started, no redo or rests are allowed. If the climber falls they are caught by the belayer and their final score is recorded. Similarly to bouldering, the competitors must climb a route they have never seen before. For each competition, routesetters create new problems joining together movements to create new and unique problems. Moreover, they are able to in- and decrease the difficulty of each problem by changing the type of holds and the distance between them. 

To ensure you fully understand the commentary and proceedings, here are some terms you should know:

• Route – the combination of movements which leads to the top of the wall or mountain
• Slab – the wall is less steep than vertical, allowing climbers to essentially lean on the wall
• Dyno – a dynamic movement in which one has to cover a large distance between holds
• Sloper – a climbing hold that has no edge, meaning no cut-in to hold onto
• Crimp – a climbing hold that only consists of a small edge, usually between 6-20mm long

For further information visit the official International Federation of Sport Climbing: www.ifsc-climbing.org