Sport Climbing up, up and away at Olympic Games

South African Christopher Cosser and South Korean Chon Jongwon shared the honor as the first two climbers to approach and aim to rapidly ascend the 15-meter wall at Aomi Urban Sports Park, officially launching sport climbing’s debut in the Olympics.

Cosser, 20, blazed up the slightly angled 95-degree wall, consisting of 20 strategically spaced hand holds and 11 foot holds, in a personal best time of 6.48 seconds. Chon, 25, lost his contact and grip early on, falling off the wall and failing to register a time.

“A bit nerve-wracking in the beginning, but it is part of the game,” Cosser said, asked about being part of the first duo to kick-off the highly anticipated Olympic competition. “Sometimes you have to be the first, sometimes you don’t. It was just part of the process.”

Gold medals will be awarded for the first time ever in sport climbing’s debut events of men’s and women’s combined – consisting of speed, boulder and lead disciplines – on Thursday and Friday in Tokyo.

“It’s a big step for sport climbing as a sport,” says Adam Ondra of the Czech Republic, a revered big wall climber considered among the favorites for gold, along with Japan’s Tomoa Narasaki and France’s Mikael Mawern. “In the world of competition it’s been a big dream for long years, and climbing deserves to be here as a sport.”

International Federation of Sport Climbing president Marco Scolaris conveyed the magnitude of the sport’s presence in Tokyo – one of five new sports welcomed into the Tokyo 2020 program – as the IOC and sport federations strive to keep the Olympic Games cool, exciting and relevant for the younger generations.

“We are not alone in this process of changing, or improving, or rejuvenating the Olympic Games and together with skateboarding and surfing, I think one can really feel the winds of change blowing,” Scolaris tells Around the Rings.

“For the traditional sports, it’s great – the family is moving on,” said the Italian IFSC leader. “Under these exceptional, difficult circumstances, being here together the new and traditional sports, are fighting for the future and giving hope to the world is simply great.”

Scolaris expresses excitement, enthusiasm and eagerness pointing out that the new Olympic sport is already expanding to two medal events for men and women in Paris 2024 – boulder/lead and speed – and the plan is to shoot for three come Los Angeles 2028.

“Our expectations are already somewhat met,” Scolaris says, then carefully pausing. “Let’s deliver the event now, and then we can talk later,” he says about high hopes for L.A. 2028.

In Tokyo, 20 men representing 15 countries are competing, although after Tuesday’s qualifications, the field has already been trimmed to eight for Thursday’s final.

“It proves that sport climbing is practiced all around the world and on all five continents,” Scolaris says, of the sport’s universality.

Sixteen countries are represented among the 20 women sport climbers, whose first ascents come at 5 pm on Wednesday in Tokyo, the same time that the men started in order to beat the oppressive afternoon heat. Slovenian Janja Garnbret is considered among the gold medal threats.

Despite the early evening start time, athletes still battled scorching elements with temperatures rising to low 30s Celsius with humidity at about 70 percent. The heat index was at well over 38 degrees.

A climber of many talents

Adam Ondra is a true ambassador for the sport, considered among the world’s most accomplished climbers, indoors and out. The 28-year-old Czech has completed more of the hardest outdoor routes worldwide than anyone, and on the competition walls, he is the reigning world champion in lead climbing and the only man to win the world championship in lead and bouldering in the same year.

He has climbed three of the four hardest routes in the world, including becoming just the third person to free climb California’s El Capitan’s Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park, a 32-pitch, 758-meter ascent. The 5.14d rated climb is considered the toughest in the world. Ondra accomplished the astonishing feat in Nov. 2016, in just under eight days, less than half the time needed by climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson in 2015.

Queried as to why climbing is worthy of Olympic inclusion, Ondra expanded upon the myriad elements and technical aspects of the sport, both recreationally in gyms and related to elite climbers daring to make daunting ascents of the world’s most imposing mountain faces.

“It already has a tradition and at the moment it’s not a small sport, it’s pretty much mass sport in terms of the number of people that really practice the sport itself,” said Ondra, who began climbing at age six.

“For sure I’m biased, but I think it’s the best sport ever. It’s not only difficult physically, it’s also difficult mentally. It’s just a great mixture of so many different elements.

“You can climb indoors, you can go in competitions. You can climb outdoors on the rock, you can climb a one-meter bouldering wall or you can climb a 1000-meter wall and it’s still called climbing. It’s such a complex and diverse activity.”

The popularity of the indoor sport exploded with gyms popping up around the world, and especially in the U.S. in the 1990′s. The sport continues to expand and develop rapidly and Olympic inclusion should only provide an additional boost.

A little help from his friends

Scolaris bluntly notes climbing’s diverse benefits and opportunities for participants of all ages: “It really is a sport for all because you can practice it from six years old until you are close to dead.

“This is something that makes us proud and at the same time we are somewhat the bridge between the brand new ones and the traditional sports.

“We have elements of both because climbing is really an instinct and something that we have,” the Italian adds.

Scolaris is thrilled to witness the sport climbers seize the opportunity in Tokyo to elevate the lifestyle sport to greater heights and captivate new viewers and fans while in the Olympic spotlight.

His confidence for climbing to be a resounding success in Tokyo can probably best be summed up by the famed Beatles lyrics sung by Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Paul McCartney: “Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends.”

“We feel the responsibility, but we are also excited because we share the same passion with our brothers and sisters of surfing and skateboarding,” Scolaris says.

“We are giving a lot of strength to the Olympic Games.”

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