Climbing at the 2024 Paris Olympics: Everything You Need to Know About Team
USA Stars and More
When
Did Climbing Become an Olympic Sport?
Climbing made its grand Olympic
debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021. But the journey started earlier, with its
first appearance at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in 2018. This
inclusion, along with skateboarding and surfing, marked a push to bring more
urban sports into the Olympics, hoping to attract a younger audience. The trend
continues, with climbing set to feature in the Los Angeles 2028 Summer
Olympics.
How
Does Olympic Climbing Work?
Olympic sport climbing is divided
into three thrilling disciplines: bouldering, speed, and lead.
Bouldering
In bouldering, athletes climb a
4.5-meter wall (almost 15 feet) without ropes. The goal? Get to the top in the
least number of attempts within a limited time.
Lead
Lead climbing sees climbers aiming
to reach the highest point possible on a 15-meter wall (nearly 50 feet) within
six minutes in a single attempt.
Speed
Speed climbing is a race against
both time and competitors. Climbers dash up a 15-meter wall with a five-degree
incline. Top male climbers can do it in under six seconds, while leading women
break the seven-second mark.
Changes
in the 2024 Paris Olympics
A significant change from the Tokyo
Games is the separation of speed climbing into its own event, leaving
bouldering and lead combined. This adjustment lets climbers specialize more in
their preferred discipline.
Scoring
System
The scoring system has also evolved.
In Tokyo, scores from each discipline were multiplied for a final score. For
Paris, speed climbing is separate, and bouldering and lead scores combine for a
maximum of 200 points.
Bouldering
Scoring
Points are awarded as climbers move
up through "zones" on the wall. Reaching the low zone earns 5 points,
the high zone 10 points, and the top hold 25 points. Points are deducted for
each attempt, and a perfect round—flashing all four problems—earns 100 points.
Lead
Scoring
In lead, climbers score by securing
the top 40 holds, with increasing points for each hold. If they attempt but
fail to secure the next hold, they get an additional 0.1 points added to their
previous score.
The
Competitors
Twenty men and twenty women will
compete in the combined bouldering/lead discipline. For speed climbing,
fourteen men and fourteen women will face off. Each competitor will run two
speed courses on different walls, with their fastest time determining the
elimination round matchups.
Top
Team USA Athletes for Climbing at 2024 Paris Olympics
- Sam Watson:
At 18, Watson holds the men's speed world record with a time of 4.79
seconds. Ranked eighth globally in 2023, he clinched gold at the Pan
American Games in Santiago.
- Natalia Grossman:
Grossman ended last year as the top-ranked women’s boulder climber and
fifth in the combined boulder & lead category. She also grabbed gold
in boulder & lead at the Pan American Games.
- Brooke Raboutou:
Finished fifth in Tokyo, Raboutou is the daughter of former climbing world
champions Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou and Didier Raboutou. She speaks fluent
French, thanks to her father's heritage.
Top
International Athletes for Climbing at 2024 Paris Olympics
- Janja Garnbret (Slovenia): The reigning women’s gold medalist, Garnbret is a
formidable competitor in lead/bouldering.
- Aleksandra Miroslav (Poland): A top contender in women’s speed climbing.
- Ai Mori (Japan):
A powerhouse in women’s boulder/lead.
- Rahmad Adi Mulyon and Veddriq Leonardo (Indonesia): Both are strong competitors in men’s speed climbing.
- Jakob Schubert (Austria): A four-time world champion and a podium favorite in
men’s lead/bouldering.
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